The City That Never Sleeps
by trogdorgirl88
Summary: Nick wakes in the middle of the night to answer a call to a crime scene. What his finds takes the team on a wild chase to find the answers before someone gets hurt. Chapter 14! Complete!
1. Midnight Call

This is my first attempt at a fic. I'll do my best.

I don't own CSI or the characters. This is the only time I will say this. : ) Thanks

He reached for his pager as it sounded in the dark. He read the scroll: "761 South St ASAP... Greg and I will meet you there--Grissom." He looked his alarm clock. 2:00 am; _Great,_ he thought. Groping for his bedside lamp, he turned on the switch. The light temporarily blinded him.

"There goes my night off," Nick said as he rubbed his eyes, trying to remove the veil of sleep. He was dressed and out the door in less than ten minutes.

The usually quiet neighborhood was in an upheaval. An ambulence and six or so police cars surrounded the tiny neighborhood home on South St. Neighbors were outside looking amazed at the chaos that had roused them from their beds. This is the to which Nick arrived. He stepped out of his car, kit in hand, and made his way toward the house. He spotted Brass and Grissom, apparently waiting on himself and Greg.

"Sorry, I'm late. What happened here?" he questioned.

"We're waiting on Greg. I only want to explain this once," Brass said. As he spoke, Greg came jogging to the scene.

"Did I miss anything?" He said panting for breath. The others just looked at him.

"We have a homocide," Brass began. "Female, early-to-mid twenties. Name's Elizabeth Monroe. COD: stabbing, and when I say stabbing, I mean ruthless. This girl's tore up pretty bad. Whoever did this..." he puased unable to speak for a moment. He took a deep breathe and continued, "No witnesses, but a few neighbors have come forward and told the police that she had a female friend staying with her. No description except for 'early twenties, brown hair, and drives a blue car.' No name either. All we have to hope is that she comes around."

Grissom, Nick and Greg absorbed the information. _Tore up pretty bad_, Nick thought. _For Jim to say that, it must be bad._ He swallowed.

"I Have a feeling this is going to be a long night," Greg chimed.

Grissom replied, "Well, then let's get to it."

All three ducked under the police line and made their way up the concrete path. Greg was the first to reach the door. He carefully pushed it open, all the while keeping his joking demeanor. When the door was fully ajar, Nick and Grissom heard Greg speak.

"My God," was all he said. His voice was laced with terror and shock. Every bit of the personality that is Greg was gone.

R&R please


	2. The Scene

What Nick saw caused his jaw to drop. Not only had Greg summed up the entire scene in two words, but he now saw the reason why _at least_ three CSI's, including one of the most experienced, were needed for this job. What lay before the trio was a literal bloodbath. The floor, the walls, the ceiling, even the furniture was covered. Not only was it plain spatter and occasional pool, but handprints were visiblly smeared all over the walls. Lamps were overturned. A t.v. was broken and laying upside-down with glass thrown everywhere. A chair lay on its side. The phone was off the hook and buzzing monotonely. A struggle. And a bad one. Nick could hardly believe all of this blood came from one human.

"How many people did Brass say were murdered?" Greg finally said.

"One..." Grissom said, almost as shocked as the others.

Nick looked around and questioned, "Where's the body?"

Each suddenly came to the realization that there was no body present. They had been so consumed in the bloody spectacle that they had not even thought of where the body might be. Then Grissom saw it. A smear of blood that trailed out of the living room (as far as they could tell it was) and down the hall. Before taking one more step, they donned protective footwear.

"Greg, you stay in here. This is the primary scene. Swab the blood to make sure there is only one donor. See if you can pull any prints from the walls. I paged Sarah so she should be here to help you in a few minutes," Grissom stated. "Nick, come with me. We're going to see where this woman is."

Nick followed Grissom into the hall. The blood didn't end in the living room. The walls in the hall were covered as well. The trail led to an open door at the end of the bloodstained hall. They walked precariously trying to avoid stepping in the blood. If not for the seriousness of the situation, one might say that they looked like a wrestler's horrible attempt at ballet.

The bedroom was much cleaner than the previous rooms. _She was all out of blood by the time she came here_, Nick thought. He looked around still didn't see the body.

"She's over here." Grissom was on the other side of the bed focused intently on the ground.

Nick walked around the end of the bed and stopped. He suddenly grew sick at his stomach. He wouldn't have known this body were human if not told by Brass. The woman was mangled beyond comprehension. From what Nick could tell There were more than thirty wounds. Whoever did this had a personal grudge. Dave was kneeling beside Grissom.

"What have we got Dave?" Grissom asked.

"Well," Dave began, "Jim gave you some of the background info, I'm sure. We have a female vic. Stabbed repeatedly throughout the body. From what I can tell, by two different objects: an apparent knife and a long cylindrical object. COD is massive bloodloss due to the stab wounds. Her nails are broken indicating a struggle. I can give you a better analysis back at the lab."

"Ok Nick," Grissom said. "Take some pictures of the body and scene. Make sure you give the room a good look for a weapon. I'm going to see if Greg needs help with the samples. Get all you can with what's here. I'll be back later to check and see what you have gotten from the room."

Nick nodded and Grissom left the room. He knelt and opened his kit. Pulling on his gloves he began. The first thing he looked at were the womans nails. Most were cracked while others were missing altogether. _She was a fighter_. He couldn't get over the condition of the body. _How could anyone do this to another human_.

A few minutes later while he was photographing the bloodied area around the body, Nick heard the door open behind him. "Wow, Gris, that was quick. Greg must not have needed too much help." He turned around to face the door leading into the hall, but his gaze was halted on the closet doorway. And who stood there was anyone but Grissom.

: P


	3. The Dare

It was the last thing Nick thought he would see. There, in the closet doorway, was a woman. She looked to be in her early twenties. Herdark brown hair was pulled into a very messy ponytail. She was holding onto the doorframe looking at Nick with a face screwed in agony. He looked her over. What he hadn't noticed was that she was wearing a white t-shirt slowly turning red with two thick bloodstains. One stain was surrounding what looked like a screwdriver handle embedded in her left shoulder. He glanced at her stomach. A little to the right of her belly-button, her left hand was fixed on an evenlarger stain. She was apparently trying tostop the bloodflow. She looked once more at Nick thenher eyes rolled and turned white. Nick ran to catch her. She had almost hit the floor when he reached her. Laying her down he called for Grissom.

"Grissom! We need an ambulance! _Fast!_"

Grissom piroetted into the room. Sara had apparently arrived, because she wasn't too far behind.

Sara saw the woman and reached for her phone.

"No, Sara," Grissom said. "There's an ambulence outside. Nick can you carry her."

"I think so."

Sara and Grissom were out the front door first.

"WE NEED A MEDIC!" Sara yelled in the direction of the motorcade.

Nick exited the house, woman in arms. He was "running" as fast as anyone could run carrying a onehundred-thirty-five pound human. The paramedics met him halfway with a stretcher. He laid her down carefully not to cause anymore damage to her already fragile body. After one more glance the paramedics wheeled her away to the ambulance. This crime had gone from normal to insane in under a minute. What they had now was a witness. If only she could live. For the mere seconds Nick saw of her, he could tell that her wounds were severe. But how severe was for the paramedics to answer. With that bit of excitement over, Everyone made there way back into the house.

"Can you believe all this blood came from one person?" Sara asked Nick.

"I did, but that was ten minutes ago."

"Alright," Grissom stated, ready to get back to work. "Now that that bit of excitement is over, we need to continue processing. Greg, how far are you from finishing the liviving room?"

"I'm almost done. I found a set of shoeprintsthat startnear the kitchen door. I just need to go backto take a few pictures and make a few impressions. It's unbelievable. I've found no strayhairs, no fibers, nothing. It's like someone cleaned up everything but the blood."

"Well, when you finish in here, go to the bedroom and help Nick. Sarah and I are going outside to see where the killer's entry might have been. Let's hope we don't have anymore uneccsary interruptions," Grissom finished and made his way out the front door, Sara on his heels.

"You want me to help you with those prints?" Nick asked after a moment's silence.

"Nah. I got it. I'll be in there in a fewminutes. I'm gonna give the room another look for tissues and fibers," wass Greg's reply.

Nick shrugged and made his way into the bedroom. Ithad allhappened so fast.The woman had been there standing in the closet, and the next, she was being whisked away in an ambulance. _She's our only witness_, Nick thought._She has to live. _He continues his photography of the room. Sudden;y he was stricken with a thought. _Could she be the killer! Considering her wounds pale in comparison, it's possible. She was losing blood fast. Dave placed TOD around three hourse ago... Maybe she heard us and stabbed herself. _Nick shook the thought from his mind. Right now he had to concentrate on the crime scene and not the specifics of "who dun it?" Nick had finished taking pictures when Greg walked in.

"Nothin'! I got nothin' other than blood," Greg almost shouted these words.

"Well, you know what Grissom says--" Nick cleared his throat.

"'There's always a clue,'" they said in unison and shared a slight laugh. Then they continued with the scene. It was several minutes before either of them said a word.

"Hey Nick, I got something over here," Greg finally said.Something in his voice was wrong. He was indicating the windowsill. Nick made his way over to see what cause Greg's tone of voice. What he saw on the white windowsill shocked him. There was a red arrow, no bigger than a business card,pointing away from the window toward the door leading to the hall. It was written in blood.

Nick took a picture of the arrow. "Swab it, Greg,"he said. "I doubt it's our killer's blood because no one would be that stupid, but swab it anyway. Just in case. I'm going to see what this is pointing towards." He walked out of the room leaving a wide-eyed Greg to finish the bedroom.

Nick looked around the hall_. What could it be pointing at, _he thought.He looked around while continuing to walk. Then he saw it. Where the doorway to the living room arched, there was another bloody arrow. Nick cringed, _He's playing with us. _The arrow was small enough to go unnoticed unless it someone looked for it. Arrow was pointing in one general direction. through the living room through another door; the kitchen, Nick could already see the next arrow. This one was larger, almost taking up an entire seramic tile in the dark kitchen. The kitchenarrow, however, was not pointing straight aheadas the other arrows were. This arrow took a ninety degree turn to the right. Nick walked into the kitchen head downlooking at the blood. He alligned imself with the arrow and looked up to see where this clue led him. What he saw took his breath away. When Nick looked up, he was expecting to see another arrow,however, he saw a wall. The clue had led him to a dead end. But thiswas not the stealer of his breath. Written on the wall inred letterin were three words: COME GET ME. On the countertop just below the wall was a handprint in blood. It was smeared slightly but the prints looked intact.

"Greg!" Nick yelled, "You need to see this!"

Greg walked in the room, "What? Did you find some--" but he could say no more. I'll get Gris. He needs to see this.'

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"Interesting isn't it?" Grissom inquired after finishing an inital walk around the house.

"What is?" Sara asked.

"There is no sign of forced entry. That can only mean 1) She knew the killer or 2) The killer was already in the house (putting aside variations of the two). Even more interesting, we have someone who was visiting her and she could have possibly been in the house at the time of the murder."

"Are you saying that the woman Nick just found is the murderer?"

"I'm stating the possibilities, Sara, and, right now, it's a possibility."

They made their way around the house a few more times making sure to check all means of entry. Grissom was right. There was sign of forced entry. Sara was beginning to believe they already had the killer. At that moment, Greg came running around the side of the house.

"Grissom---Sara," he said through ragged breathes,"---see---wall---kitchen." When he finished, he jogged around the house and back into the kitchen.

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"I already swabbed the arrows and letters," Nick stated, camera in hand,as Greg walked in staggering for breath. "Did you find anything else in the bedroom?"

Greg couldn't speak. He shook his head like a dog trying to dry it's fur. Nick got the message.

"What is it Nick?" Grissom asked walking into the kitchen for the first time. "What have we got here?"

"I took sample from the arrows and the letters," Nick said. "We've finished up on the inside. Nothing but blood."

"What arrows?" Sara asked.

Nick took Grissom and Sarah into the bedroom and showed them the windowsill arrow and the hall arrow. After several minutes of converstaion, the group, seeming satisfied with the evidence collected (or lack thereof), walkind out of the house and onto the front lawn. Grissom motioned to the coroner.

"We're done," was all he said. A few moments later, the mutilated woman was being rolled out of the house on a gurney,her body layinvisible under a white sheet.

Nick sighed as he got into his car. He backed out of the street and set off for the lab.Glancing down at his radio, he read the time: 3:30 am._This is going to be a long day. _

sorry these chapters have been so short. I'm trying to do better about that.  
Thanks for the reviews guys. I'm glad yall like it so far.


	4. The Interview

I'm not familiar with particular details on this hospital please excuse me if I am incorrect.

-----Thanks for reviews

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When Nick arrived at HQ, he went straight to the lab. Greg and Sara were there waiting on him. He was surprised that he did not find Grissom as well.

"Greg," Nick said, "where's Gris? Didn't he leave before you?"

"Oh yea..." Greg hesitated. Apparently something had slipped his mind until this moment. "I was suppose to tell you to meet him at Desert Springs."

Sara rolled her eyes. She addressed Nick, "Our second 'victim' just came out of surgery. She's started to wake up and, get this, she _asked_ to speak with a CSI. At first, I thought she might be our murderer, but when she asked to see one of us I began to doubt it."

"Well, I guess I had better head that way," Nick said with a sigh. He set down his kit and was starting out the door.

"Nick, wait! Your shirt," Greg said taking a few steps and motioning Nick to look at his shirt. What Nick had failed to realize was that while he was carrying the mysterious woman, she had continued bleeding on Nick. In the dark house the bloodstain didn't register on his navy blue shirt. In the light of the lab, however, he could see perfectly the ellipical shaped stain.

"We need your shirt, Nick," said Sara. A faint smile crossed her lips.

Greg decided to join in the joke, "Yeah, Nick let's see that washboard!" Both Sara and Greg began to laugh.

"Ha ha," Nick added. "That's really funny. Thanks guys." Nick carefully remove his shirt and laid it on the counter. Greg and Sarah walked around him making sure there was no other evidence that might escape inspection. Sarah was about to make a hilarious suggestion that Nick should remove his pants as well, but thought second of it. With seemingly everything looked over, they gave Nick permission to leave. Nick just stood there, topless. "And I'm suppose to wear..." he questioned.

Greg looked at him. Nickfigured what was coming and knewhe shouldn't have said anything. "You can have one of my shirts, Nick." Nick thought about it, and, seeing as he had no other option, it was all he could take.

"Sure, Greg," he said, almost remorsefully. A few minutes later, Greg returned with an obviously 'smaller-than-Nick' size shirt. With great effort, Nick eventually worked his way into the shirt. Sara couldn't help but laugh.

"Your welcome," Greg said. "I always keep a few extra shirts in my locker. You know, just in case I am cradling a homocide victim in my arms." Grag laughed at his own joke. Sara stifled her laugh but smiled nonetheless. "You can keep that shirt, Nick."

"Thanks... I guess." It was truly a sight to behold. Nick looked like a body buildy in spandex. The whole situation was made even funnier by the fact that Nick did not have a 'body builder' body-type. Nick looked himself over. _Well at least it doesn't have words on it._

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Nick pulled into the Desert Springs' visitor parking and found a place to park. He reached into his back seat and pulled out his backup kit. _Sure, Gris might have his kit, but I'm not taking any chances with this case, _he thought. He made his way through the entrance to the front desk. The seat behind the desk was vacant all but a small sign: Break--back in 5 : ).

Nick sighed. Then he spotted the floor chart:

Ground Level- Admittance, Visitor Sign-in, Emergency Room

1st Floor- Physical Therapy

2nd Floor- Operating Room

3rd Floor- Recovery

4th Floor- ICU

5th Floor- Labor and Delivery

6th Floor- Private Rooms

7th Floor...

He thought for a moment. _If she has just come out of surgery, then she must be on the third floor. But what if she was tranferred to a private room already? I'll check the 3rd floor first._ He made his way over to the elevator and pushed the up button. A few minutes later her heard the familiar ding. The chrome doors slid open and Nick stood back to let anyone out onto the ground floor. When no one exited, he took a nonchalant step towards the open doors. He collided with a man and a newspaper fell out of thestranger's hands. _He must have been reading and not noticed the elevator had stopped, _thought Nick. Nick picked up the paper and handed it back to the man.

"Sorry about that," Nick said apologetically. The man cast him an angry look that said, "It's 4 a.m.; leave me alone." He snatch the paper out of Nick's hands. Nick took the hint and proceeded onto the lift. _I'm not that bad in the morning... most of the time._

Thirty seconds later the metal doors slid open to reveal the 3rd floor desk. There was a lone woman sitting there looking very sleepy. She heard the doors open and spun around. She looked Nick over. Nick had scene that look before. She was checking him out... ormaybe it wasGreg's shirt.Nick sighed again and walked over to the desk.

"Las Vegas Crime Lab.I'm looking for a woman who just came out of surgery."

"Could you be a little more specific," she sounded a little testy, mostly from lack of sleep.

"I don't know her name," Nick began. "Did another man come here looking for her?A Gil Grissom?"

The receptionist flipped through a list of the day's sign-ins. "Hmmmmm," she let her eyes walk down the page. "Griffin... Groves... Graystone..."

"It should be fairly recent," Nick interrupted, "sometime within the last hour."

She eyed him dangerously before continuing,"... Ah yes, here we go. A Mr. Grissom signed in at 3:50. Room 312." After she had said this, she turned to her computer and began typing. She noticed Nick had not moved and was looking at her questioningly. "It's down that way," she said pointing with her pencil in a left direction. "Just follow the arrow."

Nick had followed arrows more than once tonight. He reached the door and knocked.

It was Grissom's voice that answered, "Come in."

Nick entered the room. Grissom stood next to a doctorlooking over the womans charts. A nurse was changing the woman's IV fluid.The woman, herself, sat propped against the upward-bent hospital bed. She looked perfectly fine except for a small cut on her left cheek. she was looking down whenNickentered, but he saw that her gaze was transfixed on him now. She smiled slightly.

Grissom looked at Nick and smirker, "Nice shirt."

_AmI ever going to get abeak tonight?_ Nick asked himself.

"Am I to understand," the doctor began, "that this is the man who moved my patient."

"Doctor Jones," Grissom implored,"if I might stand in the defense of my colleague. There were several factors in play tonight when this young woman decide to appear. We must take into account the crime scene left to us was in almost perfect condition. Had the paramedics entered the house, they would have disrupted the crime scene. We do not look for contamination on a regular basis. We try to avoid it altogether."

Nick would have smacked himself if he had been alone. He knew better than to move an injured person. He didn't even assess her injuries. _She could be dead now and I could be the blame_, he thought. He pushed the thought away.

"Luckily," the doctor said eyeing Nick. He continued his conversation with Grissom, "Miss Hill's injuries were not critical. She had internal bleeding whichwe were able to stop in surgery. A laceration on the left brow and a few deep contusions are her minor injuries.The shoulder and abdomen wounds were caused by a flathead screwdriver. We bagged the tool to ensure no cotamination. She's shaken up a bit, but I am certain that Ms. Hill will make a full recovery." The doctor finished by patting the woman on the leg; she smilled back at him. He looked to the nurse, "Let's leave these three alone, Deb." With that said, the doctor and nurse left the room.

For the first time, Nick had a clear view of the woman, Ms. Hill. Her dark brown hair was down and fell past her shoulders by a few inches. Blue eyes were encircled in, what Nick thought was, a beautiful face. She smiled at him and he felt himself blush slightly.

"I don't believe we've had a formal introduction," said Ms. Hill jovially. "My name's Rebecca Hill." She extended her right hand toward Grissom.

"Gil Grissom, Las Vegas Crime Lab," Grissom said monotonely.

She shook his hand, then turned to Nick.

"Nick Stokes, Las Vegas Crime Lab."

What Grissom first notice about Rebecca was her accent. Not only was she not from Las Vegas, she was foreign to the western United States. Rebecca Hill had a southern accent. Nick wasn't as quick to realize it because of his upbringing in Texas.

"Now that that's out of the way," she said, "shall we get started. I guess ya'll wanna ask me some questionsto find out why I was in the closet."

Both Grissom and Nick were at a loss for words. She had gotten right to the point. "Yes," said Nick, eager for an explanation.

"Well," she started, " Elizabeth Monroe is my cousin. She would have been twenty-six next week. Two years ago, Liz was tranferred to Las Vegas from Birmingham, Alabama--Oh that's where I'm visitin' from. She's an accountant. Her dad's business has branches in some of the major citiesthroughout the country. When he presented her with the choices ofNew York, L.A., Chicago, Dallas, or Las Vegas,she chose Las Vegas." Rebecca paused and laughed. "She told me that she had never been to Vegas. She wanted to 'try something new'...Anyway," she contiued after a brief hesitation, "she invited me out here to spend the summer. Not only did I need time off from work for a few weeks, but I was also looking to tranfer out west myself. It was an opportuninty I couldn't pass up. I've only been here for a few days. Today is a day I can never forget..." She stop to gather strength,took a deep breath, and continued. "This morning everything was great. I had an interview that morning at ten and another that afternoon at two. Both interviews went great. That night me and Liz had movie tickets for 7:00. When it was finally over around 9:00 or 9:15, Liz decided she would go home. I asked her to go into one of the casinos with me. This is my first trip to Vegas and I wanted to see the casinos. She agreed, but very reluctantly. We ended up at the Mirage. We stayed there until about ten; that's when Liz said she was tired and wanted to go home and get in bed early.I knew she was lying because she always stays up and watches the Tonight Show reruns. Anyway I told her to go and said that I would catch a cab. Since we drove my car she felt a little gulity about taking it. I stayed at the Mirage until 1:00, when I called a cab. If you need to check to make sure I was there, I'm sure the casino could give you the footage. I was at the slots for most of the time. I stepped out of the cab at Liz's house right at 1:25. When I got to the front door I didn't bother tryin' to find the spare key she let me borrow. Before she left the Mirage, she said she would leave the door unlocked for me. When I opened the door... I saw--" she took a breath, "I saw blood, everywhere. I'd seen places pretty messed up before, but nothing like that. My first thought fell on Liz. I couldn't put it together. I was halfway in the living room when I heard movement behind me. I turned around but before I could see anything, I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen." She motioned with her hand to her bandaged wound. "It was cold at first, then hot. Then I heard the voice.'Move,' he said, and Ifelt him lead me into Liz's bedroom. When I got there I saw an arm; at least I think it was an arm. Liz's arm...I don't remember what went through my mind. Everything was happening so fast. Liz was dead... I---I---"Rebecca felt the tears begin toflow down her cheeks. She cleared her throat."He pushed me towards the window. I fell onto the sharp corner of the sill. That is what caused this cut." She motioned towards her face. "Through the moonlight I couldn't see him--he stayed in the shadow--but I could see what weapon he wielded: a screwdriver. I wrote an arrow using my blood on the windowsill. We did this down the hall and into the kitchen. When we got to the kitchen he made me write on the wall...'COME GET ME' he said. After that was done he led me back to the bedroom. I could tell that I had lost a lot of blood already. It was getting harder to walk with every step. He could tell it too. He let go of my arm and I fell to the floor. I felt another pain. This time in my chest near my heart. He must have thought I was dead because he left. The next few minutes are a blur. I looked down and realized the screwdriver was still embedded in my shoulder. I had the earge to remove it but thought better of it. The screwdriver was stopping the bloodflow. I heard a door open in the house. I thought he was coming back. I managed to get to my knees and crawl into the closet. Everything went black after that. The next thing I remember I was starring at Mr. Stokes here. Then I blacked out again and woke up in this bed. So here I am." She finished, tears were rolling unhindered down her face.

Nick had taken a seat across the room from Grissom. He looked at Grissom's feet in search for his kit but couldn't find it. He silently praised himself for bringing his spare. As nick listened to Rebecca, he couldn't help but smile. Until she began her gruesome encounter with the murderer, she had yet to stop smiling. She was a happy person, and Nick already like that about her. All thought of her being the murderer vanished in her smile.

"Nick, did you get all that?" Grisom brought Nick back to reality. Nick realized he had written down a few notes on a notepad.

"Yeah, for the most part." He replied blushing. He had been so tranfixed on Rebecca that he forgot to ask any questions.

Grissom held up a tape recorder, "I think I got it." He looked at Rebecca, "Do you mind if we take your fingerprints and a DNA sample?"

"Not at all," was her reply.

Nick rose and swabbed her open mouth then began with the printing.

"Ms. Hill, you seemed to have answered every question we had intended to ask," Grissom added playfully as he rose to leave

"Well, I would've considered myself an idiot if I hadn'tanswered every question on your list. I use those same questions regulalry." Rebecca spoke as Nick took the last of her fingerprints. Both he and Grissom looked confused.

"And why is that?" Nick inquired.

"I never told you what my job back home was, did I?"

They both stared at her: an obvious "No."

She stated matter-of-factly, "I'm a crime scene analyst."

More to come later, I have to work tomorrow so i made this one longer than originally planned  
thanks for the review once again. They help me out. : )


	5. Unfolding Events & Evidence Lacking

Nick looked shocked._ No wonder,_ he thought. He looked over at Grissom. Grissom was composed, but a surprised look was in his eyes. Seconds later, he spoke.

"Thank you for the information you have given us. If the need arrises we will contact you again."

Rebecca extended her hand, "The pleasure was mine, Mr. Grissom."

Grissomshook her hand and turned to exit the room.

She extended her hand in Nick's direction, "Mr. Stokes."

"Nick," he said reaching for her hand. As soon as he heard himself say his name in correction to "Mr. Stokes," he wished he had just shaken Rebecca's hand and left. He felt Grissom's gaze was afraid to turn around.

"Nick," she said carefully. They shook hands.

Nick turned around to leave. He could feel his face burning with embarassment. Grissom opened the door andleft. Nick followed him, happy that Grissom had made no remark. As they made their waydown the elevator and through the parking lot, Nick could feel a strong tension in the air. He was relieved to be seated behind the steering wheel in his own car. He hit his head against the steering wheel. _God, Nick, you might as well have just asked her for her number right there!_He tried to forget about it by thinking about the case. When it didn't work, he started the car and headed to the lab.

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"She's a CSI?"Sara and Gregasked shockingly.

"Yeah, I was shocked too," Nick replied as they walked into the lab, continuing the conversation.

"I hope you three are quite finished." Nicked turned toward the voice. It was Hodges; _This night keeps getting better and better_. "I have the results from the blood samples you took," he motioned to Greg.

"Already, Hodges?"Greg saidmockingly, "you must have had a ton of casework to do, not to mention the load of cases we've had this week. I'm touched that you processed ours first."

"Don't flatter yourself Sanders." He turned to address the others, "As you can plainly see, the samples came entirely from one person; that is with the exception of the three arrows, the letters, the handprint on the counter, and some bloodaround the window and in the hall. And now, if there's nothing more--""

"Well, actually--" Nick began, placing his case on the table. "Now that you mention it, We picked up the weapon, andI did get a DNA sample and some prints from the second victim."

Hodges began to walk off, paying no attention to Nick's last comment.

"I hope _Grissom_ isn't too upset when he hears that he can't get _his _DNA evidence processed," said Nick provokingly. I slight smile crossed his lips.

Hodges spun around and took Nick's kit off the table. As he picked it up, he cast Nick a murderous look. He walked off to begin processing, obviously angered. When Hodges had disappeared, they burst into laughter.

"You got him good that time, Nick!" Greg managed to say through fits of laughter.

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"Tell me what we got, Al," Grissom said looking at the dead Elizabeth Monroe laying on the autopsy table.

Al motioned towards the woman's lifeless body, "Stab wounds, 47 total. Someone had a bad grudge against this poor girl." He put his glasses on to inspect the body more closely. "The wounds on the legs and arms drew myinterest. Upon further inspection, I determinedmost of the wounds were caused by a serrated knife. The knife was thrust numerous times without caution. There is massive tissue damage. If this girl lived, theses legs would have been no use to her." He sighed and continued. "When I moved to the abdomen, the weapon had changed." Al lifted the sheet covering the girlsmiddle. Grissom noted thefifteen or so randomly placedholes.These wounds are small and round but deeper than the ones on other parts of her body."

_The screwdriver, _Grissom thought. "Al, could these wounds have been caused by a a screwdriver?"

"Very likely. I suppose you have the weapon in question, then. Well, let me continue. What gave me the most concern with the abdomen wounds was my internal assessment. Her internal organs are unscathed."

"Undamaged organs?" questioned Grissom. " But if the killer was attacking as aggresively as you say, then surely some organ--the lungs, the liver, the stomach,--has damage?"

"Ahhh, but there's the trick. While the legs and arms were victims of rage, the abdomen wounds were made meticulously. No tearing whatsoever. There is also a difference in wound depth. It seems the killer knew how far he could go before encountering organs." Al took the next several minutes inserting whit tubes into the holes throughout the woman's body. When he was done, Grissom could see exactly what he meant. While some of the wounds were deep enough to consume most of the tube. Others were shallow, only taking inan inch or two of white.

"I see what you mean, Al, but why did you call me in here?"

"Yes, to the point." Covering up the wman, he moved back to the lgs. "What I found here might interest you." Al moved the light to the upper left thigh, hilighting one wound in particular. Grissom leaned in closer for a better view. Something gleamed in the light. Something metal.

"What is that?"

Al reached for his tweezers and removed the metal object. It was approximately three inches long, complete with serrated edge. "It was embedded in the femur," he said, placing it in an evidence bag and then handing it to Grissom.

Grissom took it and began to walk from the examining room.

"Do me a favor--" Al began. Grissom turned to hear the rest. "Do me a favor and find this guy. No one deserves to die like this."

----------------------------------------------------

It was nearing sunrise. Grissom had told Nick to go home and change shirts. As he drove down the highway, he couldn't help but think about Rebecca._ I can't go backto the hospital. Gris will find out, and that's the last thing I need. _He shook the thought from his head. "What are you thinkin', Nick?" he asked himself. "She's the only witness we have right now and you can't be calling her."

Taking off Greg's shirt was like taking in a deep breathe after being underwater. He threw ona black shirt and changed into a more comfortable pair of jean. After a toothbrushing and a quick look in the mirrorr, he was out the door and back to the crime lab.

When Nick arrived in the lab, Sara and Greg were looking over a few pieces of clothing, no doubtedly, Ms. Munroe's. Greg saw Nick and called for him.

"Hey Nick, Gris wants to see you in his office," he said this before turning back to the work at hand. Nick swallowed hard. He made his way down the hall and knocked on the familiar, always-open door.

"You wanted to see me?"

Grissom looked up from his desk, "Yes--shut the door."

_Well this can't be good_, he thought.He did as he was told.

"Have a seat, Nick." Nick didn't like the way Grissom sounded when he made a point. He was stern. Mostly because he was almost always right. Nick sat down.

"Do you know what I'm about to say?" Grissom asked, sounding too much like a parent about to punish a child.

"If it has anything to do with Rebecca Hill, then, yes, I have an idea," Nick replied.

"Good," said Grissom. "Nick, I don't want you getting any ideas. Ms. Hill is our only witness, and we still have a lot of questions to ask her." The next words seemed hard for him. "I don't want to have to take you off this case, but, if I have to, I will. You can be sure of that."

Nick knew that was coming. Grissom was just trying to keep the case as clean as possible. The last thing he needed was one of his CSI's having a relationship with the last person to see the victim alive. He noddedin understanding.

"Now," Grissom's mood changed from grave to normal (normal for Grissom that is), "I want you to go back to the lab. Look through the pictures; see if we missed anything. Something tells me there's more to this story than we think.

Nick rose from thechair and left the office. _You had better shape up, Nick, _he thought to himself, _or you'll be off this case faster than Hodges takingnew evidence to Gris._

---------------_---------------------------------_-----------

For the next several hours, Nick poured over photograph after photograph. He'd seen the same thing over and over: blood and body. Nothing other than blood and the woman's body. He coulnd't find anything different.He banged his hands on the table."Damn! There's nothing here!" His outburst drew the attention of several passersby. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Nick, calm down. There's no use getting upset about it." The voice was Catherine's. "Grissom told me about the case. He asked if I could help. I wanted to see what it looked like first. He also wanted me to tell you: 'Ms. Hillhas beenreleased from the hospital.'"

"Released?" He sounded almost angry.

Catherine held her hands up in defense, "Don't shoot the messenger. That'swhat Gil told me. If you got a question, go see him."

Nick left Catherine to the pictures. As he left the room he could her horrified expression out of the corner of his eye. He made his way down the hall once again to Grissom's office. _Released! _He thought angrily. _She was stabbed twice, almost fatally!_ He reached Grissom's office, panting, almost enraged.

"I know what you're thinking Nick, but the doctors informed me that she showed significant improvement over the last few hours. They explained that they needed the recovery room for other patients coming out of surgery. They offered her a private room but she refused saying she wanted to go home. They gaveher a bottle of painpills andorders to bed rest." Grissom sounded solemn as he spoke. He seemed skeptical of the doctors' judgment. "She did leave her cell number in case we need to contact her."

_Painkillers and bed rest?Some hospital.In and out as soon as possible; it keeps the money flowing. _Nick was madder than ever. "Where is she going to stay? She can't go back to the crime scene."He couldn't helpthat he was concerned.

"Nick, that's not our problem. Your job is to solve this crime, not worry about where the victim spends the night." Grissom was agitated.

Nick was going to respond but held himself back. Just then, Sara walked in.

"Hey, Nick, Gris--" she stopped short after seeing their expressions. "Is this a bad time?"

"No," they both said quickly.

Sara continued, "Well, there's someone here to see both of you."

---------------------------------------------------

At that moment in the lobby of the building, Rebecca Hill had just asked to seeNick Stokes or Gil Grissom. She sat uncomfortably fingering a cane providedto herby the hospital. It helped her stand but was a burden when she walked. She hated being incapable of free movement. Every breath brough a slight twing of pain. She knew she should have takenthe offer on the private room, but she never liked hospitals. They were always too cold. A few hours ago she had been sleeping, free from the worries that she faced. Now, she was staring down the hall at the two CSI who had interviewed her only hours before.

Sorry this one took so long to get posted.  
>I cut my fingerswith a carving knife and I've only had eight good ones for typing. But I made it.

Please review... Thanks!

P.S. Sorry if the whole hospital deal seems a little impossible. I needed it that way for progress. I didn't want to have to skip an entire day by saying, "The rest of the day was uneventful. The next day..." I think that would have been worse... Sorry again.


	6. Riddles

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:** (I thought I'd throw one of these in now) I would like to apologize to most of you who read this. I have been lacking in detail these last few chapters. I've been trying to get the plot laid out and steady, so i wan't concentrating on the details. I'll try to make up for it. Thanks. Most of you will be glad to know that i realized the correct term for the word tweezers is forcepts. Ha ha.  
---------------------------------------------------------------------

As Rebecca watched them approach, she placed her cane on the ground to help herself stand. With great effort she picked hersulf up into a bent position. Secure in her footing, she attempted to straighten. She apparently moved to fast; her gut twisted in an agony that was all too apparent. She tried to hide her pain. Through gritted teeth, and with the help of her fifth limb, she rose to meet Grissom and Nick face to face.

"Well, I must say that this is an unexpected pleasure," Grissom said trying to lighten the mood.

"Are you sure you should be up and walking around," said Nicksounding concerned. "You just being out of surgery and all, I--"

"If I wanted your opinion, Mr. Stokes--"panting, she continued,"I would have asked for it." Realizing how testy she was, Rebecca quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I've been a little off. I just want to get to a hotel and lie down." She took a breath and shifted her weight.

"Ms. Hill," Grissom began, "If you are so interested in resting, then why didn't you go straignt to the hotel?"

"Two reasons--One," she reached down and handed Nick a large paper sack. "These are the clothes I was wearing at the time of the crime. I thought the medics threw them away, but theysaved them andsent them to me."

"What clothes are you wearing now?" Nicked asked taking the package from her.

"Oh, I had Liz's boyfriend bring some of her clothes over. We're almost the same size y'know." Rebecca looked at Nick's and Grissom's faces. They seemed almost shocked. She hadn't realized how devastating her last statement had been. "No, no, no, he had some of her clothes lying around his house. He didn't drive to her house." A wave of relief passed over them."And the second reason I came is the most important to me right now."

"And that reason is..." prodded Grissom.

"WellI wanted to know...where's my car? It was parked in the driveway when I got home. I thought you might have brought it in for processing. I wans't completely sure."

Nick hadn't even thought of it. When Brass had mentioned Rebecca's car, he was thinking she was out of the house driving around. But then it downed on him.

"Grissom, the killer took her car. When you think about it he must have. If Ms. Hill's timeline is correct, thenhe would have had just enough time to get away before the tip was called in." Nick was excited. He felt the killer made one crucial mistake in taking Rebecca's car.

"It's possible. I 'll get Brass to put out an APB on it,"there was a hint of excitment in his voice."What make and model?"

"A blue 2004 Voltswagon Beetle Convertible," shespat without the slightest thought. It seemed that she hadsaidthose words quite often.

With that, Grissom started back down the hall to his office to phone Brass. _A lead, _he thought, _we finally have a break in this case._he felt as though he could relax a bit, but, now,time was more critical than ever.Before he got to far,his thought were interrupted.

"Mr. Grissom," Rebecca chimed in, "nothing would make me happier than to lie down at this very moment.But, I haveone thing to ask.. Would youor Mr. Stokes mind calling me a cab?" She shifted her weight as she spoke. Grissom was about to suggest Nick do it, when Nick decided to speak.

"Well, y'know," Nick began uneasily--Grissom knew what was coming-- "if you wanted, I could maybe...y'know, drive you to the hotel." It was a leap. Everyone stood in silence. Rebecca was taken aback. She eyed Grissom as if to ask him permisson. Grissom's expression was unreadable.

She began shakily "I guess... yeah, yeah, that'd be good. And on the plus side I don't have to pay for another cab." She finished smiling. Nick was breathing again. He smiled too. Nick looked back at Grissom.The expression he wore was one of disappointment.

_Don't get any ideas, Nick_, his face read, _or you'll be off this case in no time. _Grissom took the brown sack away from Nick and watched the two leave the building.

_

* * *

"Which car is yours?" Rebecca askedlimping out the front door. She was looking around. _

"It's the Tahoe."

Rebecca looked up andgroaned. In one of the far away parking spots, Nick's car sat like a hidden paradise, calling to her.

Nick responded in a caring voice, "Sit tight. I'll bring it up front."

Relief washed across Rebecca's face. Nick pulled the car around and helped her into the front seat. She felt relieved to sit. Nick thought she looked like she melted into the seat. He climbed in behind the steering wheel and started the engine.

The first part of the drive was silent. The air was tense. Nick was the first to speak.

"So, Ms. Hill, where am I taking you?" Nick asked realizing he had no idea where to drive.

"Rebecca," she said, "or Becca or just Bec; anything but 'Ms. Hill'. I hate the formalities we have to go through." She looked over at Nick, "May I call you Nick?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"I have a room at the Motel 6 on... Tropicana," she remarked questionably.

"TropicanaAvenue it is then," he said making a right turn.

"So," Rebecca said after another long silence, "have you got any leads yet, beside trying to find my car?"

"Not yet," Nick said, unsure if he should be discussing the case with her. He glanced from the road to Her. She looked upset. "But we have several CSI working on the case. Don't worry, We'll find this guy. It's only been a few hours."

She sighed and looked out the passenger-side window. "A few hours might as well have been a few days," she took adeep breath. "He's still out there; that's what worries me."

* * *

Sara and Greg were still looking over the dead victim's clothes. 

"You know," began Sara, "I wish we could find something in these clothes."

"Yeah," Greg stated, his eyes never leaving the clothes. He turned on his UV light and began searching for less obvious clues than the massive blood stains. He was about to give up when he saw it. "Sara, look at this."

"What is it?" She saw it too. On the bottom of the blouse, near the last button hole there was a spotch of blue. "Is that ink?" She questioned with an awkward face. She looked over at Greg. His face was in a similar contortion.

Greg reached for a magnifying glass and held it over the spot. "Oh My God!" Greg nearly dropped the glass as hejogged out of the room.

"Greg what is it!"She yelled after him,but he was already down the hall. Sara picked up the magnifying glass and looked at the spot. "God," her voice was like Greg's. "He's taunting us." She looked again at the blue stain. If they weren't looking they would have never seen it. There, on the bottom of the blouse was a miniscule arrow. Written in blue ink, it was pointing towards the interior of the dress shirt. _Should I even look,_ she thought, building up courage. She closed her eyes and opened one side of the blouse. There was nothing. She reached for the other side of the blouse andopened it. She glanced down the once-white shirt and noticed nothing. She was about to take a deep breath and relax, when she spotted it. An inside pocket, at the base of which, was a tiny blue stain: an arrow pointing right into the pocket.

* * *

Greg ran panting into Grissom's office "Gris! You gotta come see this!" Greg was breathing hard. "Where's Nick?" 

"We had an unexpected visitor. He's giving her a ride." Grissom seemed displeased."Did you find something."

"Yeah, and your not going to believe it."

* * *

Sara reached into the pocket hoping to find nothing. She was blissfully wrong. There in the pocket was a folded piece of paper. She was about to open it when Greg and Grissom walked in. 

"What's that?" asked Greg, still slightly winded.

"I found it in the pocket," was her reply. Greg threw her a confused glance. "There was another arrow."

"Arrow?" Grissomstated questionably, "Like our crime scene arrows?"

Sara was first to respond, " Yes. And it seems the killer left us another message." She handed the paper the Grissom. Grissom took the paper out of her hand and read it:

**"The one encased fell in passing  
The one effective fell designed,  
mors mortis nooccuro in inanis  
veritas manifesto niceterium  
-blue bowls lie where illusions are false."**

"It's a riddle," Greg said with a sudden moment of enlightenment. Grissom and Sara just stared at him. "What?"

"As if we didn't already know that, Greg," Sara remarked sarcastically.

"Did either of you find anything else on the clothes?" Grissom inquired, breaking up the two.

"No. Not a stray fiber. Not even ahair. Nothing." was Greg's reply.

"What about the clothes Ms. Hill brought us? Anything?"

Sara and Greg shook their heads.

"Is that who that was in the Lobby?" Greg asked. "Man she was hot."

Sara and Grissom shook their heads._The same old Greg for you, _Sarah rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna call Nick and tell him about this," Grissom stated."He should be on his way back."

* * *

It was almost lunchtime as Nick turned onto Tropicana Avenue. He hadn't had anything to eat since the previous night and his stomach was quickly reminding him of the fact. Rebecca's stomach was in the same condition. It seemed like a riot wasinside of her, begging to be nourished. 

Nick spoke, " Hey Bec, I don't know if your hungry but, do you wanna get something to eat?"

Rebecca felt her stomach churn for joy. _Food. _She desperately wanted something to eat, but she didn't want to get Nick into trouble. A loud growl put aside all doubt. She smiled. "What do you have in mind?"

"What do you think about Italian?"

Rebecca smiled and looked at Nick, "I love Italian."

Nick smiled, _Score._

A few minues later, Nick pulled his car into the parking lot of the Market City Caffe. "I hear this place is really good," he said after his stomach roared once again. They didn't have to wait long to be seated. The restaraunt had excellent service. They were not there twenty minutes when the food was delivered to their table. Both ordered variations of alfredo noodles.

As they ate, Rebecca pictured Nick as a meat and potatoes person. She never thought he might like Italian. _To each his own._

They ate the meal with laughter. Both shared hilarious college stories and stories about awkward family moments.

"One time--" Rebecca began trying to calm herself down, "One time, we were at the beach and my dad thinks it'd be fun to go water skiing. My dad has never been skiing in his life, let alone in the water. So we reant a boat. They give him a five minute crash course on safety and letting go of the cord. So we get out there, and it turns out he's a born nautaral. So it's never the end of the day and he decides to go once more. So he gets up and we take off. Well all he had on was a pair of swim trunks. So we get going really fast and suddenly his shorts fall down." They both errupted in laughter. "Wait, but the funny part is: he doesn't realize it at first. When he finally does, he panics and jumps in the water. He lost his shorts and had to use a towel all the way back to the hotel."

They laughed like that for a good hour. Rebecca's abdomen was hurting more than ever, but she was hiding it well. _No reason for Nick to be concerne, _she thought watching him laugh,_He's got enough to worry about now. _She needed a good laugh. One of her best friends was murdered. Bec had had a rough night. The waiter brought the ticket out. Rebecca reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. When she looked up the waiter and the ticket were gone.

"Nick did you just pay for my meal?" she didn't know what to say.

"Don't worry about it," he said very suave.

Rebecca was about to protest when Nick's cell phone wrang.

"Stokes," he said in a very authoritative voice. "Oh hey Gris."

**Grissom was in the lab. "Nick We've got some--" he stopped short. He heard the restaurant noises through the phone. "Nick, Where are you?"**

"I'm eating lunch" said Nick, replying innocently.

**"Nick, your on my time here," Grissom began angrily, "You've been gone for almost two hours.We're working on one of the biggest cases I've seen, and your eating?"**

Nick didn't reply. Grissom continued.

**"Is Rebecca Hill with you?he said it with a sigh.**

Nick puased and looked up at Rebecca. "Yes she is."

**"We'll discussthis later. Take her to the hotel. She needs to rest. Then get back here ASAP. We've got something new." **

As soon as he had finished, the line went dead. Nick laid the phone down and looked at Rebecca..

"I'm sorry," said Rebecca.

"It's not your fault," he replied. "I shouldn't be here. I should be back at the lab trying to solve your case."

"Well then you'd better take me to the hotel so you can get back," she said pulling herself out of the chair. Nick helped her up amd out to the car. Minutes later, they arrived at the Motel 6. "I had a great time, Nick," she said smiling as she reached into her pocket pulling out a piece of paper. She scribbled something on it and handed it to Nick.

"You be careful," he told her as she limped to the front door. "I don't wanna have to come back out here."

"Haven't you figured out I'm tougher than I look," she looked back at him and smiled. He returned the favor. He waved and drove off. Walking into the lobby of the hotel, she couln't help but think to herself, _He's such a nice guy. Not only that, but he's really cute. _She got her keys and headed to her room. She laid down n the bed and fell immediately to sleep.

>  
>Thnks for readin'  
>R&R Please


	7. Answers & Arrows

>> Thanks for reviewing. Keep'um coming.  
>>  
>>  
**Author's Note:** I would like to say that I'm gonna take it a bit slower tomorrow. To let the juices flow onto the page. It'll be Thursday or Friday (maybe Saturday)before I get the nextchap up. Bear with me 'til then. Thanks and Enjoy!

Sara took the paper from Grissom and read it once again.

**"The one encased fell in passing  
The one effective fell designed,  
mors mortis no occuro in inanis  
veritas manifesto niceterium  
-blue bowls lie where illusions are false."**

"The one encased fell in passing, the one effective fell designed?" Greg asked as confused as Sara.

Grissomstood there pondering. He was concentrating very hard._mors mortis no occuro in inanis, veritas manifesto niceterium, _he thought trying to think."Latin," he said finally. "It's Latin."

Greg looked confused and ask, "Translation?"

"_mors mortis no occuro in inanis veritas manifesto miceterium. _'No death occurs in vain. Truth reveals the reward,'" the phrase rolled off Grissom's tongue. the others were impressed.

"Ok," began Greg interrupting his moment of glory, "but what about the first to lines?"

"I got it!" shouted Sara. "The one encased-- the one entombed. The dead woman. She 'fell in passing.'"

"Wait. Are you saying that the dead woman shouldn't be dead? She wasn't the one the killer wanted?" Greg was confused more than ever.

"It has to be the answer," Sara replied excitedly. "Look at the next line: 'The one effective fell designed.' He knew she would live. Somehow."

"Maybe he wanted to keep her alive," Grissom said quietly.

Sara and Greg looked at him. All were silent for several minutes at they thought over Grissom's last statement. Greg was the first to speak.

"What about the 'blue bowls' line?"

Even Grissom looked troubled. _Blue bowls? Illusions that are false? All illusions are false._

"We're in Las Vegas everything is an illusion," Sara said.

"Yes, but there is a double negativein that sentence," Grissom said very techer-like. "False illusions. A 'not real fake something.' The negatives cancel, therefore referring to the tangible, the real."

"So we're looking for some blue bowl that lie somewhere real? That should be easy," Greg said sarcastically.

"You're not thinking," Sara said almost angrily. "Do you think we need to check out thecrime scene again."

"It's a start," Grissom said as they made their way to the parking lot.

* * *

Nick was driving down the rode when his cell phone rang. 

He picked it it, "Stokes."

"Meet you at the crime scene? Riddle? Hold up, Greg. Now, say it slower. Ok. Ok. I'll see you there." He hung up the phone. _They found something, _he thought, very relieved. He turned at the next intersection and headed for South Street.

* * *

Grissom, Sarah and greg were inside the house looking for anything they might have missed. Greg was looking in and around the cabinets. 

"Well, I see bowls, but none of them are blue," he said with a laugh.

Sara shook her head. Someone entered the house. It was Nick.

"Hey guys. You found something?" he asked.

Grissom explained to him the riddle and how they were looking to unravel the last line.

"Blue bowls?" he wondered.

"That's what I said." Greg was happy he wasn't the only one troubled bythe lastline.

As they were speaking, Grissom's phone rang.

"Grissom," he said as he picked up the phone.

**"Hey, Gris," it was Catherine. She was at the Miragelookingover the tapes from the previous night. "I watched the tapes and the girls alibi checks out. She was the the slots and bar the whole time. She did leave the bar for about ten minutes to walk her friend out to her car. We have footage from the parking lot to prove that."**

"So we've hit a dead end with the tapes?" It was more of a statement than a question.

**"Well not exactly," she was quick to correct. "The tapes show a man walking up to the slots and talking with the victim for several minutes."**

"What was the outcome of the conversation?"

**"They got into a fight. Nothing big. No one had to intervene, but there was definate shouting involved. The man stormed off and the victim reamined at the slots for a few minutes before walking to the bar."**

"Has anyone identified the man as of yet?"

**"No I talked with the manager and watched the tapes. The man left immediately after that. No one seems to know who he is." Catherine seemed dumbstruck. "Do you think he could be the one, Gil?"**

"Anything's possible Catherine. We'll call Ms. Hill in for questioning later. Right now we're trying to figure out--" he stopped short apparently struck with a revelation. "False illusions..." he trailed.

Sara, Nick, and Greg looked tense.

"What is it?" Nick asked, ready to hear what Grissom had just discovered.

"We're in Nevada. The desert. Illusions. What kind of illusions occur in the desert?" he asked excitedly directing the question at the others.

Greg answered first, "A mirage!"

Grissom nodded.

"Yes! I got one! Score one for the Greg-man!" He expressed his excitement in a goofy looking dance.

"So wait." Nick said trying to avoid being hit by Greg's spastic limbs"We're looking for a blue bowl in a mirage?"

"Not _a_ mirage," Grissom corrected. "_The_ Mirage."

"A blue bowl in The Mirage?" Sara questioned.

"That'll be like finding a needle in a haystack," Nick added.

Grissom decided to reveal the answer. "A metaphorical blue bowl."

**"Grissom," Catherine was still on the phone. She was more confused than Greg. "What are you talking about?"**

"Catherine, do me a favor," he said through the phone. "Look at the current videofootage of the parking lot."

**Catherine told the controllers and they pulled up the feed on several monitors. "Ok. What am I looking for?"**

"A Voltswagon Beetle," he said sounding enlightened.Grissom looked at Nick.Nick seemed to know where he was headed.

**Catherine scanned the screens for a few minutes. "I've got a couple. One in the frontand one in thethe back parking lot."**

"What color is the one in the back?"

**"Blue. It's a convertible."**

Grissom's eyes glowed. "We'll be there in a minute." He hung up.

"Wait, what just happened," asked Greg as they walked out the door.

"We just found Rebecca Hill's car. It's a blue Voltswagon," Nick said fianlly understanding.

"But how is it the 'blue bowl'?" Greg asked still confused.

Nick looked him square in the face, "It's a convertible."

They climbed into their vehicles and headed to the Strip.

* * *

They arrived in the parking lot at two o'clock. Each carried a kit ready for processing the scene. Nick borrowed Sara's backup. Both of his were were being processed. The scene had been secured. Nick looked across the parking lot at the blue convertible. He couldn't help but picture Rebecca in the car. He smiled as they approached the vehicle. 

"Alright," said Grissom in a business-like tone, "I'll take the inside with Sara. You guys take the outside."

They all nodded and got to work. Nick began at the front while Greg started in the back. The glare from the car was blinding. Even through sunglasses, Nick was having a hard time seeing. He worked quickly to make it into the shadow of the passenger side. When he arrived he saw something of interest.He photographed the door handle, and dusted for prints. Nothing usable; he grabbed his forceps. Logged neatly in the handle was a small piece of brown fabric. "Gotcha," he said as he bagged it. The door suddenly unlocked. He stood up from his squatting position. He saw Grissom and Sara looking intently at the center console. Nick opened the door. Grissom looked up at him then went back to staring at the console.

"'It is with a word as with an arrow - once let it loose and it does not return. '" The quote was seemingly appropriate.

Nick looked at the arrow through the UV light. "Is it in blood?"

"Yes, I've already taken a sample," Grissom's eyes were focused on the arrow. "Sara, would you do the honors?"

"I thought you'd never ask," She opened the center console slowly. There in the confines of darkness lay a knife. The handle was intact, but the blade itself was broken off.

"I have a feeling we've found the rest of our murder weapon," Grissom said taking the knife in hand. Nick lookedintothe empty console and cocked his head. "Gris can I see that light."

Grissom handed him the light, as he bagged the broken knife. Nick shone the UV light into the dark hole. Imediately there appeared a violet arrow aimed in a rear facingdirection. He looked towards the trunk to see Greg one step ahead of him.

Nick got out and walked around the back to see what Greg had found in the trunk. "What'd you find, Greg?"

"License plate. Right above theletter 'A.'" He never moved to look at Nick; he keep searching.

Nick looked down at the tag and saw a tiny black arrow pointing upward. "Way to go Greg."

There was no reply for several seconds. "Aha!" he shouted causing nick to jump. Greg help up a sheet of paper. The four corners of the paper held strips of duct tape.

"What's it say?" Grissom asked as he and Sarah walked around.

Greg cleared his throat and spoke:

**"suRveillanCe renders you no hopE.  
your hope Is iN the reD.  
time is fLying; niGht will Come,  
befoRe my Identity is unDonE.  
-40501"**

"How many more of these will we get?" Sara was anxious.

"Lemme see that," Nick took the paper away from Greg. "Some of the letters are capitalized. And what are these numbers?" He hande the riddle to Grissom.

""Has anyone got a sheet of paper," Grissom asked reading the note.

Nick felt around in his pockets and puller out a sheet of scratch paper. "Here."

Grissom's eyes went back and forth feverishly from riddle to paper. in under a minute he revealed what he had uncovered. "R-C-E-I-N-D-L-G-C-R-I-D-E."

Greg tried to sound it out to no avail.

"Is it some kind of code?" Sara was confused yet again.

Nick took both papers. "Not really. It's scrambled. I think the number is a hint. It looks like a street number." He handed the papers back to Grissom.

Grissom took another few second to scribble some notes, then showed the fruits of his labor. "R-E-D-D-I-N-G-C-I-R-C-L-E." When he held up the paper to show the others, he noticed something written upside down on the back of the paper.

"Redding Circle?" Greg's voice was laced with understanding. "That not to far from here."

Sara didn't know what to ask first,"What's at Redding Circle?"

"We're about to find out," Nick was already taking the kit and heading for his car.

"Nick, can I talk to you for a minute." It was Grissom.

"Sure," he knew what was coming.

"Nick, this is strike two," he said indicating the back of the paper he had just written on.

Nick looked at the words: "Call if you need me - Bec." A number followed.

"Gris, I swear I had no idea she wrote her number on it. I haven't even looked at it yet. I just put it in my pocket."

"I don't care if you didn't know what it was,"Grissom began in his parent-like tone."You're out there eating lunch with her? She's our only witness and you're taking her out to lunch. For Christ's sake, Nick, she needs to be resting. She was stabbed. Do I have to spell it out for you?"

"No," he repliedshifting his gazefrom the groundtowards the rest of the lot.

"Look at me," Grissomsaid forcfully.

Nick looked at him through squinted eyes.

"Leave her alone, Nick, at least until we get this case out of the way." He finished with a sigh. Nick could tell he was disappointed. "Now get to Reddind Circle. I have to talk to Catherine." Grissom watched him take a few steps towards the Tahoe. "Nick."

"Yeah," he said obviously ready to leave.

Grissom handed him the scratch paper containing the address and Bec's note. "You'd better hold onto this." He winked, "In case we need it later."

Nickturned with a smile and continues the march to his car.

* * *

"So what did you get Catherine?" 

Catherine walked up shielding her eyes from the Nevada sun. "I've got a casino employee who says he was outside smoking when the blue car arrived."

"Well, what's he got to tell us?" Grissom was ready for new information.

"He sees this guy pull up in the blue convertible and doesn't think much of it." She continued narrarating, "It's not 'til the guy startes messing around on the inside and trunk that puts him a littl eon edge. Then the guy get's in a black sedan parked over there," she indicated the far side of the lot, "and takes off."

"That's all. I checked the cameras and the same thing happens. There's no luck with this guy. No face or anything."

Grissom looked nowhere in particular."Where are you taking us?" he paused for several minutes. "I'm going to the scene, call me if you find anything else."

"Gil," Catherine called as he walked away. "Be careful with this guy."

"I always am," he yelled back.

"Yeah right you are," she said sarcastically. "And I have a personal life." She walked towards to casino.

* * *

The house at 40501 Redding Circle was a corner home facing the intersection of the two roads. Nick and Sara walked up to the front door and knocked. An elderly man. answered the door. 

"May I help you two gentlemen?" he asked very neighborly.

"Excuse me sir, We're sorryfor the interruption. I'm Nick Stokes and this is Sara Sidle. We're from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. Do you mind if we have a look around your house?"

"Yes, you may. Is there some reason as to why?" he asked still very friendly.

"We've encountered evidence that lead us to suspect that this house may be part of our investigation," Sara was professional as she spoke.

"Hey! Guys!" Greg yelled from the corrner of the street.

"What is it Greg?" Nick asked from the porch of the man's house.

"We don't need to search his house. Look!" Greg traced the sidewalks all the way to their meeting point atthe corner, then up the walkway to the house. "Don't you see it?"

Nick and Sara just stared at him. "See wh--" she did see it; Nick as well.

Nick turned around to face the man, "We're sorry for the inconvinience, sir. We won't need to search your house. I apologize for the interruption."

"It's no problem son," the man replied. "you're just doing your job." He shut the door.

"It's a reach," Sarah said skeptical.

"Isn't it obvious where it's pointing," Greg stated as he pointed to the middle of the intersection. There in the middle sat a sewer entrance.

"No. If you think, that i'm going down there--" she was interrupted.

"No one said anything about going down, Sara, we're just gonna take a peak." Greg eyed Nick, "Nick, have you got a crowbar in your car?"

"I'm sure I do. Lemme go check." He was gone for only a few minutes as he rambled through the back of the Tahoe. He came back to the middle of the street crowbar in hand.

"Wait," Sara stopped Nick from lifted the metal disk. "Should we wait on Grissom?"

Nick looked at Greg. They both exchanged looks of "Nah" and Nick continued his work. A horn honk caused all three to jump. They say a familiar face behind the wheel of the car that just startled them. Grissom pulled over to the curb and parked his SUV. "What is this?" he asked walking into the intersection.

"We found the arrow," Greg said proudly as he pointed in the direction of the corner house.

"Where?"

Sara sighed, "Greg thinks it's the sidewalk-pathway-up-to-the-porchintersection."

Grissom nodded with realization.

"Pop 'er open Nick," Greg was becoming more excited.

"Ok. Here goes."Nick grunted andwith one quick heave, the sewer cover was lifted from it's hole.

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	8. Games & Guests

**Author's Note:** I had fun writing this one. I hope you enjoy reading it. I got the a liitle carried away in writing. so i decided to stop it here and take a little break.  
>>>>>>>>>>>R&R!

Nick looked at the bottom of the metal disk. Nothing was there. Everyone's excited gaze fell to the hole.

"After you Greg," he stepped back from the manhole.

"Me? Why me?" Greg didn't want to descend into the darkness.

"You did find the arrow, Greg. It's only fair that you find the clue as well." Sarah was on the verge of laughter. She was trying hard not to smile.

Greg looked around at the three bodies encircling him. There was no way of escape, except for the manhole. "Alright, fine, I'll go down," he said in a grumble. "But you all owe me big time for this. I mean like take me out to dinner and pay for everything. And You all owe me a big birthday present for this." He climbed down the iron ladder into the sewer. "God, it stinks down here!"

"That's why they call it a 'sewer,'" Nick was lacking in compassion today.

"Don't start with me. I'll pull you down here, Nick," he said in a very serious threat.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try, monkey-man," Nick was enjoying every minute of this.

"Guys," Grissom said, stopping the fight, "let's focus."

With a huff and a final glance upwards, Greg descended in the dark. "I hope there aren't any alligators down here. Workman's comp. That's all I can say." His voice was growing fainter as he reached the bottom and began to walk away from them. The smell alone was enough to scare away anyone.The air was thick and he was having to breath very deeply.Greg shone his flashlight all around the tube.He yelled at them, "There's nothin' down here!"

"Keep lookin'!" Nick's voice echoed throughout the space. "Look for arrows! Look all around for arrows!"

"I heard you the first time!" came Greg's voice echoing back to the surface. He was trying not to pay any attention to the sounds of Nick. He was looking for something that was the next clue or would lead him to the next clue.

He heard Nick again. "Have you found anything yet?"

Sara was obviously enjoying this as much as Nick.

"If you would leave me alone for five seconds I might!" Greg was getting agitated.He began looking faster. He couldn't find anything the way he was headed so he walked back towards the entrance.

"Did you find anything?" This time it was Grissom.

"I'm gonna check this way," he was pointing in the opposite direction. He walked several feet, checking in every conceivable hole he could find. He was about to give up when something red caught his eye. Directly above him was a gigantic arrow pointing in a direction further down the tunnel. He whined.

"What is it?" one them yelled. He couldn't tell who it was, but he guessed it was Nick.

"An Arrow! Due north. I don't think the sewer bends for a good while!" Greg was yelling trying to make himself heard.

"Ok!" It was Sara. "We'll meet you at the next hole. Call us if you find something or change directions!"

They put the cover on the sewer and Greg was plunged into complete darkness.What made things worse, the sewer was slightly more intimidating. in complete darkness. If Greg had not brought the flashlight, he felt he would be slightly less brave. He swallowed his fear and continued down the sewer looking for the next hint and trying to avoid the smells around him. He pointed his flashlight up hoping to find another arrow. It wasn't long until his effort were rewarded. He pulled out his phone and dialed Grissom.

* * *

"Grissom," he spoke as he answered the phone. 

**"Gris I got another one!" Greg was excited. "I'm making a left turn!" Greg was yelling through all the static.**

"He's turning left. I have a feeling we might need a car for this." They all piled into Nick's Tahoe and headed down the street. At the next intersection , they made a left. "Ok, Greg, talk to me."

**"Straight...straight...straight...Right! Right! Turnright!" Greg was screaming and was barely audible.**

Grissom directed Nick as Greg spoke.

Nick looked at how fast they were going; or how slow they were going. The Tahoe was clocking in at an amazing 5mph. _Any faster andwe'llbe breaking the sound barrier,_ he thought sarcasticallyas hereached to the side of his steering wheel and turn on his hazard lights.

"This is so nerve-wrecking," Sara said through clenched teeth. "Where is he taking us?"

"What's he sayin', Gris?" Nick was ready to floor it.

"Stop! He's found it."

Nick pulled the car over to the curb. He got out and scanned for any manholes. _There it is!_ He looked behind them to the intersection they had just passed. He grabbed the crowbar and headed to cover. He jerked the cover from the hole.

Sara was the first to yell, "Greg! Can you see us?"

"Yeah," came the familar voice. "I''ll be there in a sec! Lemme get this of the wall!"

* * *

Greg felt like he was being chased. He was running as fast as he could through thigh-deep water, and he couldn't seem to get anywhere fast enough. Having to yell directions every hundred feetwasn't helping. When he came to a rest, he was looking at a large peice of paper, comparible to the size of a small poster.There was a small blood smear near the bottom.On it was not written a riddle. It was a letter.Greg read it once befroe pulling it off the bricked wall: 

**Congratulations my friends,  
You have made it thus far with no help. I suggest you process  
the DNA from this blood and the fingerprints on this page as  
soon as possible. Before tomorrow there will be bloodshed. my  
true identityand locationlies in your lab. As for now, you have  
reached a Dead End. **

Sincerely,

But there was no signature.He gazed around the long tunnel. _Where are they? They better not leave me down here,h_e thought.Greg saw a light flash out of the corner of his eye. _Sunlight, _he thought. Then he heard Sara. Shewas calling his name. He made his way to the open manhole and looked up at the familiar faces. "Long time no see," he said as he climbed the ladder into the warmth of the late afternoon. He breathed the fresh air, thankful to be out of the sewer. The others were not so thankful.

"Greg, you smell aweful!" Nick was the first one to speak.

"Your welcome," he said laying the poster on the ground. "You can go sewer-diving next time. I've had all the fun I can stand for today."

The others couldn't help but laugh. They quickly turned there focused back to the letter.

"I'm guessing," Grissom began, "that we need to go to the lab."

All agreed, the hopped into the Tahoe and gathered their vehicles.

"You don't know how long it's gonna take for me to get this smell out of my car," he was adressing Greg.

"Let's call it payback." Smiling, he walked away.

* * *

Rebecca rubbed her eyes and squinted at her alarm clock. 4:00. _That was a good nap, _she thought rolling onto her back. Her abdomen had almost stopped hurting completely and her shoulder only hurt when she tried to rotate it. _I should be better in no time. _She rolled onto her back and took a deep breath. She let it out slowly. _If this were a little bit more comfortable, I might could take myself another nap._ She checked her phone for missed calls. When she reached she heard the toilet flush. Her heart lept and began to race. _I didn't let anyone in. Not that I can remember anyways._ She heard the water run as someone washed their hands. She watched as the door knob turned very slowly. A man stood there. He was six feet tall ad dressed in all black. The only things visible through the shadows were his bare arms and a blurry face. He held a gun in his hand. Rebecca couldn't tell what kind of gun it was from the angle, but she hahhad enough experience to know not to think less of any weapon. 

"Your awake," he said in a gruff voice. The same voice from Liz's house.

"Who are you?" she asked finally breathing again.

"You don't remember me Bec? I feel that we have met before today. Was it...one year, seven months, and nineteen days ago? Don't you remember?" he was very bold as he spoke. "Think before you answer."

Rebecca thought hard. Remembrance flashed across her eyes. "Yes, I do remember. Jonas Killen. An appropriate name. 'The Wal-Mart Rapist.' You raped and killed over forty women. All young girls and women between the ages of thirteen and thirty-two. They have enough evidence to prosecute. The case is pending until your arrest."

"Yes, you do remember," he laughed maniacally stepping into the light. If in another place and time, she might have said that he was good-looking. He had jet black hair combed very neatly, and stunning blue eyes. But Right now she was in a life or death situation and this was no time to be think of dates.

"What do you want, Jonas?"

He stopped laughing and pointed the gun at Rebecca. "I want you to participate in a little activity I have going on with your CSI friends right now. You see, I've led them in a chase across half the city. I've just given them the last clue. It should take them hours before they figure it out.Andthe ending is so good." He paused letting her soak in the information. "Now, I want you to come with me so thatyou can play a role in the last part of this puzzle as well. We are going to a place where the letter, if they figure it out, will lead them."

"Do I have a choice?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"No, but if you would like to, you could put up a little struggle to make it all the more interesting." He smiled as he said it.

"I would give you no such pleasure, Jonas," she said rising from the bed.

He began again, "I am taking you cell phone with us in case they try to make contact. This will be a very fun exercise. Don't worry. I havealready take the liberty of changing your voicemail." he finished, smiling again.

"You know they can track it," she said obviously.

"My dear, do you think me a fool? I have already routedyour number through seven differnt points throughout the city. Their heads will be spinning in circles if they try to track me down."

"Why are you doing this, Jonas? You have already killed my best friend and long-time colleague. What more Can you take?" Rebecca was desperate for an answer.

He decidedto tell her," Bec, there is no reason but freedom. You can easily place me at the scene. In fact you were there. You saw everything transpire. You are my last link to the case. Now, please, if you don't mind, I would like to get on the move as soon as possibly."

"Are you going to kill me?" she asked looking him in the face.

"I haven't decided Bec... I haven't decided. But i can promise you that someone's blood will be shed tonight."

Rebecca was mortified when he said that. _If there must be bloodshed tonight, _she thought, _let it be mine._

He led her out the doorby her left shoulder. She winced in pain as he squeezed it harder.

"I was just making sure you were human," he said with a laugh as he closed her into his Camry.

He got behind the wheel and drove away from the motel.

* * *

Greg was busy dusting the poster for prints, whileNick scan the blood samples into the computer. 

"I bet we'll get a hit off CODIS. I bet you twenty bucks." Nick was up to his usual antics.

"No. I won't take it. I got a good feeling too," Sara was not going to purposely take a bet she knew she would lose.

"Looks like we got a whole hand print here guys," Greg said putting his brush down and walking towards the computer. Right after the word "Sincerely' there was a large handprint. Greg scanned it into the computer and began the search through AFIS. "This might Take a while."

"Well lets look at what we got," Grissom said motioning them around the table.

"We have a dead girl with surgically accurate wounds... so maybe a doctor?" Sara threw her opinion out there.

"At least someone with a knowledge of human anatomy," Nick said.

"Ok so what do we know about thewoman who lived?" Greg asked seemingly more interested in the girl thatn the facts.

"She's a CSI. She is visiting from Alabama. The victim is her cousin. All she heard was a voice," Nick chimed with accuracy.

"Alabama, ha ha!Gotta watchthose Southern girls," Greg laughed.

Nick eyed his dangerously, and he ceased laughing.

"Ok. Do we have anythingon thecasino fight?" Grissom asked monotonely.

"No," said Sara. "It was a shout-fest. Nothing too bad. We can't i.d. the man though."

"Do we have any personal links to the dead woman?" Nick asked. This inquiry was getting them no where.

"There's the boyfriend,' Greg spoke hoping to lead it somewhere.

"No, Catherine checked him out. He was at a movie with a couple of friends. They covered his alibi."

"Then what do we have? A broken knife and few smaples of DNA and a hand print that CODIS and AFIS will take hours to match?" Nick's question was laced with agression.

"Calm down Nick," Grissom said. "We just need to see where this leads us. We'll find him."

* * *

He sat her down at a table in a noisy restaurant. "I think we should be Ok if we stay here a few hours.Are you hungry. It's getting on towards dinner now." 

"Not really," Rebecca said. In fact, this whole situation made her a little sick to her stomach. She wasn't about to eat anything at the moment. She had too much to think about.

"Well I am. Do you mind if I order myself a little desert?"

"To each is own," she said staring out the window.

He called the waiter over and ordered himself some kind of ice cream bowl.After the waiter had brought the order, Rebecca heard a familiar ringtone. Her phone was ringing. Jonas let the phone ringuntil the voicemail picked it up.

_Whatdid he change it to_? She asked herself. Moments later thephone range again. Only once this time. Another minute passed. Thephone rang only once. Onlookers were starting to get very annoyed. This time the phone rang and Jonas answered. He looked at Rebecca as he spoke.

"Hello... Nick..."

* * *

Hours passed in agony. Everyone was at the breaking point. Nick was getting very tired. His sleep was interrupted very rudely earlier in the morning and the effects were just catching up to him. 

"Why isn't the computer placing them?" Nick asked angrily.

"It takes time, Nick," Greg said. He new the strains of the computer's work. He had worked with it for years before going into the field. Greg glanced at the wall clock. It read 6:30.

Nick's mind began to drift back to Rebecca. He hadn't seen her in hours. _I wonder how she's feeling. _He was about to reach for his cell phone to call her, when he heard the computer bleep.

"We got a match!" Sara said triumphantly.

"What's it say?" asked Grissom.

"The fingerprints and DNA belong to a: Jonas Killen. There's an active warrant for his arrest. Whoa!" Greg stopped looking at Grissom. "Check this guy's rap sheet out.Sexual Assault. Alleged Rape. Suspision of Murder. He's wanted under suspision of forty rape-related deaths in Alabama and the murder of an officer in cold-blood." Greg paused unabled to continue.

Sara read the next few lines and finished for him. "The case in pending," she read the screen. She looked up at Grissom and Nick. "I'll give you two guesses to figure out who worked the case."

Nick and Grissom stared awestruck at Sara. Grissom turned to Nick.

"Call her... Right now..."

Nick picked uphis phone and dialed the number. Everyone waited with baited breath. Greg wasn't even breathing. He waited... the ringing stopped. It was the voicemail.

"Hello CSI," It was a deep voice. "It is a pleasure to see that you have made it thus far. I can imagine that this is Nick Stokes. If you wish to talk in person and retrieve the 'package'I have here with me, you must follow my instructions very closely."

Nick looked horrified as the message continued. The others watched him transform.

"Here are the instructions," the voice began again. "After this message is complete, you will hang up and dial again. You will let the phone ring once and then hang up . You will do this again in exactly one one from the first time. The third time you call, you will not hang up. I will answer." The voice ended and the computer began to speak. Nick hurridly dialed the number, let it ring, and hung up both times as instructed. He dialed the third time. Ring...no answer...Ring...nothing...Ring...Ring... He was about to hang up when the voice sounded through the phone.

"Hello...Nick..."

Nick's face turned green. Everyone seemed to know who he was talking to... Elizabeth Monroe's murderer. The man who had Rebecca.

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	9. Truths Revealed

**NOTE:** Comments are greatly appreciated. Smile

"What do you want?" Nick was anxiousfor thean answer. The others waited for a reply.

**"Why Nick," Jonas laughed, "I'm surprised at you. It's not a question of wha tI want. I have what I want," he eyed Rebecca. "They question is: What do you want returned?"**

**"Your sick," Rebecca said. "This is all just a game to you. It's always been just a game!" Several people began to stare.**

**"Bec, you must remember your manners. We are in public."**

"I want to talk to her," Nick said, his voice determined.

**"I don't know about that. The only reason I would hand Bec the phone would be if she was going to tell you everything." He looked at Rebecca as if to ask her. She nodded. He handed her the phone. As Rebecca took it she felt the muzzle of Jonas's gun press firmly against her leg. She glared at him but turned her attention to the phone.**

**"Hey Nick," she said relieved to be talking to a friend.**

Every bit of color rished back into Nick's face. "God Bec, are you ok?" Grissom tried not to notice the emotion behind the words.

**"I'm finefornow. Listen Nick," her toned changed from jovial to serious, "I have to cover a lot of ground in a short time. Turn the speaker phone on. I only wanna say this once."**

Nick held the phone at arm length and and found the button. "Ok," he said as he placed the phone on the table in front of the other three.

**Rebecca heard the beep and cleared her throat. She felt the gun on her knee and proceeded. "A year and a half ago there was a murder that took place in the area of Birmingham that I frequent regularly. Naturalyl my shift manager assigned me with the task of the investigation. I took one of the lesser experience CSI to accompany me. Thatisone mistake that still haunts me. It was midnight when I arrived at the scene: Wal-mart. It donned on me at once what this case was. It was another installment of 'The Wal-Mart Rapist' murders. When we arrived the parking lot was deserted all but a few police cars. We were told the scene was secure. I noticed thatone of my friends was there. The late Elizabeth Monroe. Apparently she had witness the murder from her car as she was leaving. She made the 911 call.The processing went as usual. Bag this, dust that. Swab for DNA. The usual.**

**"We were ready to pack up and head back when something flashed in the corner of my eye. It was a man. Tall. Dressed in all black. The scene turned out to be less secure than we thought. The only policeman for a hundred yards was a young man in his late twenties. he was atleasttwenty yards away.His back was to us. As the man came closer he spoke. 'CSI,' he said to me,'you are the reason I will be caught this time.' As he spoke her raised his gunlevel to my chest.I didn't know what he meant. _Iwill remember this voice for the rest of my life_, I told myself.And Ihaveremembered to ths day." She took a ragged breath and continued with her story. "My partner, not knowing what else to do, reached for his gun and prepared to open fire at the man. The man say him doing this and shot him. I'd never heard a person being hit with the bullet. It's one of the most sickening thing I've had to endure. The sound of the flesh being torn. The sound of the bullet being slowed by the skin." Rebecca paused for a lond moment before continuing. "My eyes left the manlong enough to see my partner fall. When I looked back, the gun was trailed on me. 'Now... where were we,' he said. His voice was terrible. The policemanwas running in our direction, but the man in black didn't care. I was the one he was after.The man pulled the trigger. Everything after that was in slow motion. I saw the bullet leave the gun. I watched as it neared me. I couldn't move. I think I was in shock. Then I felt it. A shove. The policeman had pushed me out of the way in time to save me from the blast. He, however, caught my bullet. After the first blast the policemen were sprinting across the parking lot. I crawled over to the policeman. The bullet found a spot in the policeman's right chest. The man did not move. He simply aimed his gun at me.**

**"I remember looking up the barrel of the gun. It was like seeing the end of my life at the end of that barrel.He was less than three feet away. Practically on top of us. I saw him smile; he pulled the trigger... There was no resounding boom. There was no crack of thunder. There was a simple click. _No bullets, _I remembered thinking, _he's out of bullets_. Then he ran. He didn't stay to reload. I wondered why he ran becausehe said I would be the one who would cause his capture. I guessed that his capture would haveend in my death. I would be his last murder.I sat there cradling the policeman in my arms, yelling at the top of my lungs forsomeone tohelp. There was so much blood. I knew in my heart that he was going to die.They tried to save him. He died the next day. After his surgery was a success. His body wouldn't hold the stitches long enough." Rebecca finished in tears. She was sobbing uncontrollably.**

**"Bec, it's ok," Jonas was trying to consol her.**

**"Don't touch me you bastard," her voice was ragged and elevated. "You're the one he fired that gun."**

"Rebecca," it was Grissom, "the man who killed your partner and the policeman is Jonas Killen?"

**"Yes, Grissom. Birmingham lost two of it's finest officers that night. My partner was one of the smartest men I ever knew, a little imature, but smart. The other man, the policeman--"She stopped fighting back tears. The metal on her leg urged her to continue,"-- that man was Jonathan Hill, my brother. The bravest person I have ever know."**

Everyone in the lab seemed to melt. _Killed her brother? _Greg thought remorsefully, _Unintentionally, but he killed him._

Nick couldn't find words,"Bec..."

**Jonas took the phone away from Rebecca. 'Now Nick, will you finish this game we've started?"**

"Will Bec stay safe?" He asked as if it was an ultimatum.

**"As long as you cooperate, yes. For the time being."**

"Fine," Nick said.

**As Nick and Jonas were speaking, the waiter walked up again. "Would you like anything to eat, madame?"**

**"I think I would," She held up the menu and scanned for something to order. She remembered the alfredo she had for lunch. "I'd think I'd like the alfredo chickenpasta," her voice was elevated. She was trying to speak loud enough to be heard on the other end of the phone.**

**"Very well madame, but you do not have to yell." The waiter walked away to place the order. **

**Nick heard 'alfredo chicken pasta' and everything in his mind went into a whirpool. _I know where she is_, he thought. He pressed the red phone button. The line went dead. **

Nick heard 'alfredo chicken pasta' and everything in his mind went into a whirpool. , he thought. He pressed the red phone button. The line went dead.

"Nick, what are you thinking?" Greg asked very angrily. "We don't know anything yet. We don't even have a location for her."

"Yes, we do," he said nonchalantly.

"When did he say where he was?" Sara asked joining the argument.

"Just now. Bec said it. 'alfredo chicken pasta.'"

"That's a dish. Not a location." Grissom was agitated.

Nick was already heading out the door. "Exactly. It's the same thing we had for lunch today. She's at the Market City Caffe."

Everything was happening so fast. In a matter of minutes, a parade of police cars was grinding to ahalt outside the small cafe. People were shouting and running to get out of the way.

Jonas stood up in the restaurant holding his gun into the air. "Everyone wishing not to be dead within the next minute would be wise to vacate the perimeter." There was screaming and a great jostling. Tables were upturned. Plates were broken. By the time the restaurant was empty, the entire building looked like a train wreck. "I was afraid i would have to shoot someone," he said staring at Rebecca. "I think I frightened them don't you, Bec?"

She didn't answer.

"Oh come on," he started, "Tell me this isn't great fun."

"It's not fun," she said folding her arms across her chest. "You're gonna hurt someone, Jonas. You have me. Why don't you end it now."

"And end the fun I'm having?" he asked playfully. "I can't wait to see Nick's face when he see's you die." He could see the police beginning tofrom a perimeter.

"They won't care," she said trying to ruin his enjoyment. "I'm just another case to them."

"That's what you think. I saw the way he looked at you when you ate lunched together today. I've seen that look before. He wanted to know you better. He wants what you won't be able to give him."

"And what's that?" Rebecca asked not caring.

"A relationship, and after that, love," he said solemnly. He sounded regrettable. "It makes me almost wanna take back what I'm about to do. I never meant to kill your brother."

Rebecca didn't say anything. She stared out the window and watched the motorcade.

"JONAS KILLEN!" It was Brass. He was using apolice megaphone.Vacationers watched in amazement. Many were snapping pictures. "PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"

Nick, Grissom, Greg, and Sara stood along with Jim behind the motorcade front. They all looked towards the caffe with anticipation.

"Do we know if she's ok?" Greg asked in a very unlike Greg voice.

"As far as we can tell, yes," replied Brass keeping his focus on the front door.

None of them were prepared for what happened next.

"Stand up," Jonas ordered. "We're going outside."

"Your giving up?" Rebececa asked unbelieving.

"Bec, maybe it's better if you don't speak."

He put the gun to her head. "Are you ready? This is how it all ends." He pushed open the door and walked into the ring of armedpolicemen, knowing that he would never walk out alive.

"PUT DOWN THE WEAPON, JONAS," Brass sounded through the megaphone.

Nick reached for his gun when he saw Rebecca come out of the building with the gun at her head. He felt a hand on his shoulder. I was Grissom.

"No, Nick." He said the words very sad.

"LET THE GIRL GO, JONAS," said Brass. "YOU LET HER GO AND WE ALL WALK AWAY FROM THIS LITTLE INCIDENT. NO HARM NO FOWL!"

He pretended to think about it for a moment. He shook his head and yelled at the top of his lungs, "SHOW ME NICK STOKES!"

Rebecca's head spun around to face him. "What are you doing? Leave all of them alone."

"I thought you might want to say goodbye," he said smiling very evilly.

For the first time in a long time, this seemed more real than ever. _He's actually going tokill me,_ she thought_. In front of all these people._ She looked around to see the families and children. _They don't need to see this._

Nick swallowed and took a step forward.

"Be smart, Nick," Grissom said quietly to himself.

He looked back at Grissom and smiled. He turned and walked out of the protection of the motorcade.

Jonas saw Nick, who looked very angry, walk into view. He squeezed Rebecca's left shoulder and let everyone watch her crumple. He didn't let go until people started to scream.A blood stain was slowly growing on her shoulder.He had torn her stitches.

"Go," he said lifting her to a standing position.

She gathered her strength and took a step. Nothing. She turned around to see Jonas's gun trained at her head. "Go!" he almost screamed it.

Brass held his two-way to his mouth. "He's letting her go," he said in complete surprise. "Nobody move until Nick has her."

She was getting closer to Nick. He could see her face well now. Nick could tell she was upset. He saw tears streaming down her face.

_This is how it ends, _she thought._He's gonna let me get so close..._ but she couldn't finish. She kept her eyes on Nick.

_Almost there._ Nick thought._Almost, come on. _

_Almost there. _Everyone was thinking the same thing. Greg grabbed Sara's hand and squeezed. Once he realized his actions, he realeased her hand and tried to brush it off.

"Do me a favor," he said, "and pretend that never happened."

"Do me a favor and don't ever touch me again," she fired back.

All eye's were fixed on Nick. "Will he take a step towards her? Will he wait? What's going to happen?" the crowd murmured.

Rebecca was an arms reach away. Nick reached ut to her with his hand. She reached to findhis outstretched arm. They clasped hands.

People screamed. Some with relief. Others in horror. A shot had been fired.


	10. Sirens & Sorries

**NOTE:** Sorry this one is so short guys. I wanted to get this one out before it got too late. This one just flowed out.  
>>>>>>>>>R&R!  
>  
> Thanks wraiths-angel for the reviews... Thank you Sad Smiley ( and North Carolina Gurl. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.

* * *

Rebecca heard it before she felt it. The crack and then the thud. The thud of the skin trying futily to stop the metal bullet. She felt it pass through her flesh. Her left shoulder. The same wound as before. _Is this some kind of joke? _she asked herself. Then the sound of tearing vessels and breaking veins ceased, and she heard it again. **_THUD. _**But this time, her flesh did not tear. She looked ahead and remembered who was holding her. It was Nick. Her shoulder was lined up directly with the right side of his chest. _No._ The pain finally struck her. It was much worse than the screwdriver. 

_He was only suppose to hit me_, Rebecca told herself as she fell forward onto the ground. She saw Nick for a brief second before she hit. He was falling backwards clutching his chest.._ I did this to him. Nick was just a way for him to get me out in the open._

Another shot rang out. More screaming. She heard Jim yelling into the two-way, "He's down! He's down! Move in and cuff him!" Rebecca thought she heard people cheering. _They must have got him, _she thought. A smile grew across her face. Her attention once more fell on her shoulder. It hurt to breathe. _It just hurts. I can still breathe it just hurts... What about Nick? _She tried to pick herself up and look around. _Where are the medics? _Rebecca began to grow worried. All she saw was Nick and most of his blood moving slowly towards her. He was struggling to take in air. _His lung. My God... it's hit his lung..._

"Nick..." she said reaching out to him. She couldn't get anymorewords out. Her shoulder was on fire. She saw him reaching slowly back her. They grabbed hands for the second time. Rebecca squeezed hard and tried to pull herself alongside of him to be matched with his face. He helped her. They lay there for seconds before either of them spoke.

* * *

Nick saw Jonas's body posture turn from relaxed to rigid. He had seen that look before. He was about to fire his gun. Rebeccca was almost to Nick. He saw Jonas's finger move from the barrel to the trigger. He had no choice. _He's going to kill her! He let her get this far and now he wants to kill her? _Nick felt the rage building. He was ready to errupt. _He can't! I can't let him! _He reached out and grabbed Rebecca's hand as she extended it towards his arm. In doing so, he moving her closer to his left, her right. He heard the gun fire as he moved her.For a moment as, he held her in his arms, he thought Jonas had missed. He was wrong. Nick had moved her in time for the bullet to miss hitting her square in the back. Instead,it madeonly a pass into her shoulder. What he didn't account for was the power of the gun. He felt the bullet enter his chest. He heard himself gasp. The pain was worse than anything he could imagine. He felt himself falling backwards. He let go of Bec and she fell with him. 

_My lung_, he grimaced and clutched his chest as he thought, _that bastard got my lung._ He was breathing hard. He heard his name. He glanced down and saw Bec reaching to him. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up to his face.

Rebecca stared at him for the longest time, taking in his face. She looked into his eyes and saw her own reflection. _I look awful, _she smiled. Nick returned the favor. _He has the most beatiful smile I've ever seen._ She wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to tell him so many things. She opened her mouth and couldn't find any complicated words. All she found was one.

"Hi," she said. The word was occumpanied with a smile. _God, you idiot, your dying and that's all you can say? HI?_

"Hi," Nick said, He looked into her eyes andsmiled.The smile quickly turned to alook of painas he took a ragged breath.

* * *

Grissom looked ahead at Nick and frowned._ As long as he doesn't do something stupid..._ his thoughts trailed, and he looked back to see Greg and Sara arguing. He shook his head and focused forward. 

Everything happened so fast.Nick reached for Rebecca and Jonas firedthe gun.The bullet went in but never left. Rebecca and Nick fell to the ground. Jim had ordered the officers to take the man down. They had Jonas in cuffs and were driving him to the hospital for stitches and then to the station for booking. Greg and Sara were already ahead of Grissom andwere leaping over the hoods of the black-and-whites in their way.

Jim yelled into his two-way," We need a bus 3770 South Las Vagas Boulevard! We have a hostage and an officer down! Do you copy. We need a bus..." he screamed the coordinates once again.

* * *

"Nick don't move." It was Grissom. He looked over and saw Greg putting his entire weight on Rebecca's shoulder. "Greg, apply pressure...Don't push her into the ground!"

Greg and Sara were applying pressure to both sides of Rebecca's wound.

"Sorry about that," he said to Rebecca. She relaxed when he released some ofpressure.

"It's ok. First time?" she asked.

He swallowed, "Yeah i'm not really the 'holds-the-bleeding-wound guy.' I'm more of the 'run-go-get-help guy.'"

Rebecca's laugh was stifled by the pain in her shoulder. Greg looked remorseful for the joke. _Stop making her laugh Greg, _he told himself_, your only hurting her worse._

"Stop making her laugh, Greg," Sara said seriously. "We need her to lie still."

Rebecca laughed inwardly. She looked over to see Nick and all happiness seemed to escpae her.He was gasping for breath. Grissom was trying to examine him. Brass was yelling into his radio for the medicsto hurry.

"Nicky," Grissom said trying to sound comforting. "I'm going to get Jim to raise you up a little. I need to see if the bullet broke the skin on your back."

Nick Nodded feverishly. He closed his eyes. _Just keep breathing, Stokes. It hurts but you gotta breathe to live._

Grissom nodded at Jim and Nick felt Jim and Grissom's hands slip under his back and lift. Something exploded in Nick's chest._ God...Damn_, he wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't escape him. His mouth was wide open but no sound came. Grissom felt Nick's back.

_No wound, _he thought worried. _It could be anywhere along the bullet path. _He and Jim placed him back on the ground.

The ambulance sirens wailed through the street and the two vehicles came to a stop beyond the barricade of police cars.

"Well, they came prepared didn't they?" Greg asked. The others didn't pay him any attention.

Two paramedics, one in his forties, the other in his late twenties, jumped from the back of the first ambulenceambulence. They navigated through the parked cars with ease and swiftness. Two more paramedics raced behind them, both women. One in her mid-thirties, the other looked fresh out of college. The men came first to Nick. Grissom and Jim backed out of the way.

"Gun shot wound to the chest," said the older man kneeling. The other lowered the strecther down to the ground. "Sir," the medic was talking to Nick, "I'm gonna need you to stay with me."

Nick gave a quick nod. He ground his teeth as another wave of pain hit him. They had lifted him up to check for a wound on his back.

"No exit wound," Brandt, he said addressing his fellow medic. "We've got to stop the bleeding. Help me get him on the stretcher... 1, 2, lift!" They got Nick on the and raised it.

The medic named Brandt held an oxygen mask over Nick's face. "Try to breathe," he said. The wheeled him away. Grissom turned his attention to Rebecca. She was being checked by the two female medics.

"Shoulder gunshot wound. Through and through. No bullet present," she was compressing the wound. The bleeding had stopped. The picked her up and placed her on the stretcher.The other medic gave her a once over after standing.

"Ma'am, where you injured recently?"she asked indicating the stitches on Rebecca's abdomen.

"Yes," Rebecca answered wavering. She was beginning to feel faint. The young medic noticed.

"You've lost a lot of blood. We'll need to _get_..." but the rest went unheard by Rebecca.Everything faded to black as she collapsed on the stretcher. The other ambulence was screeching away. She blinked back to consciousness. She saw Grissom, Sara, Greg, and Brass staring towards the waining sirens.

_Nick... _she thought of him. He was alone. Not one of his friends was with him. _This is my fault. It was suppose to be me... only me. _She felt the tears begin to flow. The looked once again to the CSI team. She could only think of one thing to say.

"Grisso--" she tried to say his name. They heard her try to speak and turned to face her. "I'm--I'm sorry." That was all she could say. Her vision blurred and went black.

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	11. Returns to the Hospital

**NOTE:** I had fun writing this one as well. I hope you like it. Forgive me with the errors.  
>>>>>>>>>>>Keep the comments comin' R&R. Thanks!

* * *

Nick labored with his breathing. Each breath came like a hammer to his chest. The oxygen mask wasn't helping much. _At least it's helping little, _he thought as he took ragged breath after ragged breath. He thought about the others. Rebecca mostly. _Is she ok?... I have to know..._ he felt his hold on consciousness begin to slip.

"Sir," it was Brandt, "Sir can you here me? Try to stay with us. Open your eyes."

Nick opened his eyes to see the man looking down at him. "Call me Nick," his voice was muffled through the plastic mask but Brandt had had several years to learn "oxygen-mask-speech."

"You've lost a significant amount of blood. In my opinion you should be dead." Nick rolled his eyes at that remark. _Thanks doc._ "We've stabalize your vitals as of now. The bullet has pierced your right lung and is logged somewhere close to your spinal cord. We won't know the complete extent of the damage until we get you back to the hospital. You will be going into the operating room on arrival. They have to get tthe bullet out."

Nick took in the information. Nick was wavering in and out. His vision was blurry. He could hardly hear anything Brandt was saying. He could hear him, somewhere.

"Sir! Sir! NICK!" Brandt yelled. "Mike!" the other medic turned to face him. "He going critical!"

Mike banged on the metal wall between the the cab and the back. "Hurry up Jay! We're losing him!" Mike felt the ambulence speed up dramatically. He moved over to help Brandt.

"His blood pressure is dropping fast!" said Brandt frantically.

"What's his heart rate doing?" Mike was cutting off Nick's shirt and listening to his slowing heart beat.

"Dropping... Faster. Call the O.R. Jay! They better be ready!"

"Stay with us," Mike whispered.

Nick remember lunch earlier that day. He could see Rebecca smiling. That's all he could see. He heard someone yelling. He lost his battle. His eyes closed and everything went black.

* * *

Nick opened his eyes. He was rolling downa lighted hallway. The hospital hallway. Everything was swirling. Doctors. Nurses. A mask went over his face and he was told to breathe. One thing he couldn't do. He felt everything start to slow as the annesthetic took its desired effect.

* * *

Rebecca opened her eyes. She was in a dimly litrecovery room._ I'm at the hospital. _She continued to glance around the room. Inthe onlychair in the sparcely furnished room sat Greg. He had propped hiself on the armrest and was snoring softly. _Should I really wake him? _she thought menacingly. 

"Oh Greg, sleeping on the job," she said in a "tisk-tisk" way."That will never do." This was going to be fun. Greg sat motionless, snoring away. She felt guilty about what she was about to do. He had been awake since two that morning working her case. He had uncovered some facts that led to her being here, out of harm's way. But she just couldn't help herself. She looked around the room and found it: the shirt and jacket she borrowed from Liz. She swung her legs over the side of the hospital bed and started to stand. She pushed herself up only to have her shoulder give way. She bit herlip and cursed silently to herself. _Note to self: always think about where you are hurt before you stand. _Rebecca made a mental note.

She made her way over to the chair on which her clothes were. She searched the pockets for the two items she neard went anywhere without: her camera and her ipod. She tiptoed over towards Greg, dragging the IV stand with her. She scrolled through her playlists. _It's too perfect, _she smirked. She turned the volume all the way up and pressed pause. Greg was motionless in the dark. Rebecca slipped the two earpieces in each one of his ears. He flinched slightly but didn't wake. She held the camera ready. She pressed the camera button. At the same time she pressed play.

Greg was deafened and blinded as he jumped from his sleep. Rebecca was laughing despite the pain shooting up her arm.

"Y'know I actually like Guns n' Roses. Good choice," He said taking to earpieces out. "'Sweet Child O' Mine'... very good choice."

Rebecca's laughing had calmed dramatically. "So... you wanna look at it with me?"

"What are you kidding? I never miss the chance to see proof of a joke."

She pushed the "review" button. What they saw caused both of them to almost fall over lauging. Greg looked like he was somewhere between 'scared to death' and 'amazingly surprised.'One eye was fully opened, almost at a bulge. The other looked normal. one arm was plastered to the side of his head, not yet away from its sleep pose. His other arm was clamped onto the armrest. His knuckles were white. One leg was out of the photo. The other, however, made up for the other's lack of appearance.It was fully extended at waist height. It was the only thing visible in the rightside of the picture.

After they had their laugh, Rebecca remembered her arm. She looked at Greg. "Where's Nick? Is he ok?" she had grabbed his shirt with her good arm.

"Whoa! Slow down Bec!" Greg feared for his life for a moment,"He was in surgery when I came up here at eight o'clock. Gris, Cath, and Sara are waiting on him."

She let go of him. "What time is it?"

Greg yawned and looked at his watch. "It's midnight. No wonder. I'm tired."

"Greg, could you grow up for one minute and not think about yourself." She proceeded to pull the IV out of her arm.

"I don't think you should--" he was too late. The IV was already dripping alon on it's stand.

"Now turn around. I have to get dressed."

"You know Grissom actually told me to stay here and keep an I on you. Make sure you _stayed_ in here."

"And you can tell him I have blackmail," she said motioning to the camera. "Now _turn around_."

Greg turned around and Rebecca proceeded to put on the clothes that lay in the chair. She slipped on the pants, fighting her shoulder pain, and was about to put ther shirt on when she remembered the bullet holes. _Hospital shirt for me I guess,_ She left her gown on turned to Greg.

"Ok. Let's go."

"Nice getup," he said playfully. Rebecca thought he might have been a little serious.

"Ha ha. What Floor?" She meant business and Greg knew it.

"I think they are onnnn...nanah-nanah.. two!"

She grabbed his arm and was out the door. She looked both ways down the hall. "All clear," she stepped nonchalantly into the hall and made way for the elevator. She had Greg stand to her left so not to draw attention to the arm she was favoring at the moment. On the elevator Greg spoke.

"I have the distinct feeling that you've done this before," he eyed her suspiciously.

Rebecca smiled. "Let me just say this isn't my first visit to a hospital as a patient."

They both shared a laugh. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. They walked down the hall a ways and Rebecca saw a sign that read "Waiting Room."

"Here it is," she said.

"Gee, I wonder what gave it away?" Nick asked sarcastically. If she could have elbowed him, she would have.

Greg pushed open the steel doors that guarded the waiting room from the exterior hall. Everyone looked, mouths agape. Rebecca took in their faces. Grissom looked deeply saddened. He went back to staring at absolutely nothing. He was thinking hard. _He's like a father to Nick. _Rebecca knew that from the moment they had met. The way he eyed Nick when he had told Rebecca not to call him "Mr. Stokes." Sara and Catherine had recently washed their faces. No makeup was presently on their faces. _Crying. They've been crying... But who wouldn't have been,_ she thought. Rebecca fought back tears herself as she walked into the room and saw everyone's faces. _So much sorrow. And I've caused every bit of it. God Nick... you should have let me die. _

The team scanned Rebecca. She was a sight to behold herself. She was dressed in blue jeans and a hospital gown. Blood stained her bottom lip. More blood was slowly trickling down her arm where the IV had been. Rebecca felt the blood flowing from her right-arm vein. She quickly folded her arm over to stop the flow. Grissom was the first to speak.

"Greg, you were suppose to keep her in the room." He said the words very solemnly. Every bit of life she had noticed in him earlier had disappeared.

Greg held his hands up. "I had no choice. I was blackmailed," he said pointing to Rebecca.

"She shouldn't be down here. She's hurt," Grissom said lifelessly. He didn't look up from the air his eyes were trained on.

"Gris, she deserves to be in here. After all she's been through. Right Bec?" There was no reply. "Bec?"

Rebecca didn't hear him. She was beginning to figure out what Grissom was getting at. _I don't belong here, _she thought almost in tears. _That's it. It has to be. These people all share something with Nick. Something I never had a chance to get before today. Something I might never have._ She took a deep breath. _I don't belong._As she was thinking, her face lost all color.

"Bec? Are you ok?" It was Greg.

The door opened into the waiting room. It was a surgeon. His mask was hanging around his neck. he walked in and met everyone with a handshake anda horrifying gaze.

"I have some good news and bad news," he said.

Catherine spoke first,"Good news."

"Ok. Well we've stopped the bleeding and restored the use of his right lung..." Everyone sighed with relief. "But he's not out of the woods yet. The bad news." he sighed and continued. "When we went in to extract the bullet we couldn't find it. That is until one of my colleagues suggested the place where we did find it. The bullet is logded very close to his spinal cord. I was not going to attempt a removal until I realized the bullet was constructed of whatI believe is lead." He noticed the looks on everyone's face were in disbelief. Rebecca thought silently to herself,_the bullet was going to kill me even if I didn't die from the initial blast. _She shivered at the thought andcontinued to listen."Trust me, I've seen enough bullets to know which ones are dangerous and which one's are not. The question of most importance is what will happen when we remove the bullet. We will not know the extent of the damage until we go back in. We are going to give him a few hours to recover from the first surgery. We have given him medication to counteract the metal poisoning. We would like to start the surgery at the soonest time possible."

"How long?" Sara spoke fighting tears.

"Four hours. That should give us enough time to devise a route for the surgery and, it should give your friend enough time to recouperate."

"Is he able to speak?" Grissom asked.

"He's still a little groggy, but yes. Give him a little bit of time and he should be fine. Just keep him calm. He's in ICU right now. You can go see him if you like." He was about to walk out when he noticed Rebecca. "Ma'm are you ok? Your pants?"

She nodded and looked down. It was the first time she realized the massive blood stain on her jeans. She remembered lying next to Nick on the pavement as he bled_. It's Nick's blood,_ she thought. It was dry. She couldn't believe she hadn't felt it before.

Everyone stood up and began to walk out the room. Rebecca sat down. Greg didn't move from his spot beside Rebecca.

"Are coming Greg?" asked Sara.

He looked down at Rebecca and then back to Sara. "No. Not yet. Besides, you think Nick wants to wake up to this face?"

Sara shrugged and left the room. It was only Greg and Rebecca now. Rebecca didn't care about holding her tears back anymore.

"Hey Bec," he said trying to console her, "What's wrong? Besides the obvious situation."

"Don't you see?" she said through sobs. "I don't belong here. You've all known Nick for years. I've known him going on one day. Grissom was right. I shouldn't be here."

"Hold up," Greg said trying to lighten the mood, "You do belong here. There's no question about that.If not for us then for Nick." He knelt down to see her face to face. Heused his hand to turnher chin and brought her facetomeet his own."I bet the first person he wants to see is you." He said it very compassionately.

Rebecca started to cry again. "Greg," she smiled. "That's the nicest thing I've ever heard you say. Not to mention, the most grown up." She smiled.

Greg stood up and stretched, "Well don't go telling anybody about this. I have an image to keep you know."

She laughed. "What about Grissom and the others?"

Greg scoffed, " Do you think I ever listen to them? Look at me. Do you think I'd be who I am today if I listened to Grissom?"

Rebecca didn't even have to think about that one. "No. Not at all," she said with a smile.

He extended his hand to her, "Then lets go see Nick."

She took his hand and stood up. He walked her to the elevator and up to the fourth floor.

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	12. Nobody's Fault

**NOTE:** This chapter may not have a lot of consistency. I hope you like it though. Keep the comments coming. Thanks!

Greg and Rebecca arrived at the fourth floor and walked towards the ICU. They looked through the glass to see Grissom, along with Sara, standing at the foot of a bed. Catherine was itting in a chair she had pulled from a table. She was at the side of the bed. Rebecca looked at the person in the bed through the glass. _Nick..._she started to cry.

Greg tried to console her. "Bec, he's fine. Look at him." Her eyes followed him arm and she Nick again. Her sobs only increased.

"I did this to him, Greg. It's all my fault," she finally said between tears. She buried her face into his shoulder.

"It is _not_ your fault. It's Jonas Killen's fault." He was doing his best. After a brief paused and what felt like a calming of Rebecca he asked, "What do you say we go in and see him?"

Rebecca looked through the glass. She thought hard. She could see her own reflection in the glass. "I think I'm gonna go back down to my room," she said. "I need wash myself off." She indicated her lip and arm.

"You want me to come with?"

"No. Stay here. Talk to Nick. I'll be back later." He watched her force a smile and walk away.

Damn you Grissom... you broke her heart. Greg huffed and entered the room.

* * *

Nick felt himself beginning to wake up. He started to think. _Am I dead? I can't be dead. I hear my heart... Maybe it's not my heart... I don't know... _He thought he heard Grissom.

* * *

Grissom and the others had not moved one inch since they arrived at Nick's side. Sara stood beside Grissom, who was glancing continually between the monitors and Nick. Catherine had taken a seat at Nick's side. She was holding his hand and waiting for something to happen.

Grissom saw the spike in brain activity on one of the monitors. _He's waking up,_ he thought.

"Open your eyes, Nick," he spoke in an authoritative, but kind, voice.

Nick slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Everyone was there. Almost everyone. Nick felt the pain in his chest as he tried to speak. He puched through it. "Where are the others?" His voice was raspy.

"Nick don't talk; you need to rest." The voice was Catherine's. Nick felt her squeezing his hand. He squeezed back. His eyes fell on Grissom. He asked again.

"Where's Greg?"

Grissom sighed and answered, "He's with Rebecca."

Rebecca, he thought. _Is she ok? Is she alive? Why isn't she down here? _All the thoughts flooded back to him. He remembered the scene in graphic detail. He swallowed.

he thought. All the thoughts flooded back to him. He remembered the scene in graphic detail. He swallowed. 

As if summoned, Greg walked in at that very moment. "Well I can see we're quite the morning person, aren't we?" His question was directed at Nick.

Nick laughed, or it was an attempt at one. It sounded more like a choke than a laugh. Nick was stifled with pain.

"Greg! Can you go five minutes without making a joke?" It was Sara.

Greg looked like he was thinking about it. "No."

"Greg..." Nick rasped

Greg was startled by his voice, "Nick you sound awful."

The others eyed him. Nick continued.

"Greg... how is Bec?"

"She's ok. She went to her room to wash her face."

"Is she coming back?"

"Yeah, in a little bit."

Grissom looked at Greg's shirt. There was a large stain. "Greg, what's on your shirt?" Everyone looked at his shoulder.

Greg looked down. _That's where Rebecca was crying._ He quickly thought of an explaination. "Oh, that? The water fountain downstairs is a little crazy." _Nice save Greg, _he told himself.

Nick breathed as deep as he was able. Pain lit across his chest. He looked around at everyone. "So... what's the diagnosis?"

Grissom took the liberty of answering, "I'm going to sugar-coat it." Grissom took a deep breath. "The bullet is real close to your spinal cord, Nick. They wouldn't remove it if they had a choice."

Nick looked confused. "They don't?"

"The bullet is made of lead. If they don't remove it, you will be poisoned."

Nick looked terrified. Catherine could see it. "It'll be ok, Nick. They've got some of the best surgeons here. You're going to make it out ok."

He didn't look convinced. He closed his eyes for a minute and spoke. "Can you guys give me a few minutes alone? I need to think about some things."

They looked at Nick in disbelief.

"Please," he looked at Catherine and squeezed her hand.

"I need to go get some food in me anyways," Sara said. Everyone else agreed. Reluctantly they left. All but Greg.

"Greg?" Grissom asked.

"I'll be there in a minute. I have to tell Nick something."

Grissom took one last glance and left.

Greg's demeanor changed from friendly to detestful. He mumble something that Nick couldn't understand.

"What is it Greg?" Nick asked after the others had left.

He walked over to Nick's side and sat with his back facing the direction the others had just left. _Grissom won't be reading my lips tonight._

"Bec is really upset, Nick. Our fearless leader," he nodded to the door, "gave her the impression that she shouldn't be here among your friends."

"Did Grissom say that?"

"No," Greg said sighing. "I don't even think he meant it. But he sounded like it. She took it really bad. I can't help but feel sorry for her." Greg leaned in closer to him. "Nick, she thinks it's her fault all this happened. She wants to see you but then she's afraid of what you might think."

Nick couldn't believe what he was hearing. Everyone had been on edge. Still, he did think bad of Grissom for giving Rebecca that impression.

"That's not water on you, is it?" he pointedat the stain on Greg's shirt.

Greg shook his head and smiled.

"I want to see her," Nick said very resolute.

"Ok," Greg nodded and left.

It's not your fault Bec. If anything, it's mine. I should have been there at the motel. With a killer on the loose? I should have stayed with you. Nick closed his eyes, the thoughts still raging. He hadn't meant to but he had fallen asleep.

* * *

Rebecca was in her private bathroom washing the blood off her face and inspecting her lip. _Smooth move. _After having looked at her lip, she turned her attention to her arm. It was still bleeading a little.She cleaned her arm and placed some tissue paper on it to stop the blood flow. _Band-aid. I need a band-aid._ She rummaged through several drawers. _This is a hospital. Where are the band-aids?... Ah ha! _"There you are!" she said as reached into the back of the cubboard under the sink. She dried off her arm and placed a band-aid of the hole. "That's better." There was a knock on the bathroom door.

She froze. "Yes?"

"Hey, it's Greg. Are you finished in there?"

"Yeah hold on a sec." She closed the drawers and walked out of the bathroom.

"Look what I found," Greg said playfully dangling a piece of cloth in the air. It was a sling.

"Ahh. Greg you're my hero." She gave him a hug.

"Ok. Let's go see Nick."

Rebecca took a step back.

"No you don't," he said grabbing her good arm. "He said he wanted to see you. I was told to come get you."

Greg practically drag her onto the elevator. She finally realaxed when she arrived on the fourth floor. He was still escorting her. He opened the door and followed her in. He showed her to Nick's bed.

"He's asleep, we shouldn't wake him."

"Nonsense. He asked to see you. I delivered," he opened his mouth to wake him.

"No, Greg," she yelled in a harsh whisper. Her hand covered his mouth. "You delivered. Congratulations. I'll wait for him to wake up."

"Ok. I'm going to find something to eat. Do you want anything?"

She shook her head as she sat.

"I'll bring you something anyway. Are you sure you'll be ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be ok."

He nodded and left the room. Rebecca and Nick were alone.

* * *

Rebecca looked at Nick and started to cry. He had tubes coming out of every hole (it looked like it). He monitors on everything vital. Wires were running into his gown, and were attatched to his chest with tape. She couldn't see him like this. _All my fault... It's all my fault. _She laid her arm and head on his bed and tried to muffle the sound. _Stop crying. Don't wake him up._ She tried but couldn't stop. She looked at the clock on the wall: 12:30. In just three and a half hours, Nick would be on his way to surgery. She closed her eyes and continued to sob. She looked up at Nick. He had not moved. _At least he's resting_, she thought quietly to herself. She yawned. _Maybe I can get a few minutes of sleep..._ she closed her eyes and fell asleep on the hospital bed.

* * *

Greg was looking for a vending machine. The kitchen was closed until morning. _Oh come on there had to a vending machine around here somewhere. _A light went off in his head. _The waiting room of course. _He exited the room with four candy bars, two bags of chips, and three cokes. _I'm glad they had a change machine in there._

He made his way up to the fourth floor to give some of his private stash to Rebecca. He arrived to see Grissom, Catherine, and Sara all gazing through the glass. He followed their gaze. _She's asleep!_ He saw her asleep at his side. "Well I guess I'll gave to eat this by myself then," he said aloud smuggly.

"Greg," came Grissom's voice, "what did you tell nick when we left?"

"I told him that you were being a real a-hole to Bec. I've already contacted a hitman in Reno. I was a little upset when he said he wouldn't be able to make it until next week. He explained that he was very busy and that he would get to you as soon as possible."

The others didn't smile. Grissom spoke, "She needs to be resting."

"Well technically she is." Greg was right. "She thought you just didn't want her in there. She thought that since she wasn't part our 'family', as she put it so well, that she shouldn't be here. Nick told me to bring her to see him."

Grissom didn't hang his head. He looked saddened. "I didn't mean it like that. She needed to be resting."

"Well tell it to her, Gil, when she waked up." Catherine had had enough of the bickering. "You can apologize when she wakes up."

* * *

Nick woke up and looked at the clock: 3:15. _I slept a long time. _He looked around and saw no one. That is, except for Rebecca. His eyes lit up. She was asleep beside his hip. _How long has she been here? _

"Bec..." she didn't wake. He looked at her. She was in a hospital gown. Over her shoulder was a sling cradling her sore arm. Her good arm was tucked neatly under her head. Nick reached with his laft hand and touched her head. _She's really there... I'm not hallucinating. _She stirred and opened her eyes slowly. He saw her blue eyes. They were still cloudy from sleep. She realized where she was raised up quickly. She didn't know what to say. Nick was the first to speak.

"How are you?"

She looked at him and smiled, "I should be asking you that question. I'm fine. Thanks to you. Are you ok?"

"A little shaken but I'm good," he said breathing deeply. He reached his hand out to Rebecca. She took his in hers and held it up to her mouth. She kissed it gently, and watched Nick smile.

**

* * *

**

Sara and Greg were asleep on a small couch. One at either end with their legs entagled in the middle. When Catherine saw them finally asleep she couldn't help but laugh. They had had a monstrous argument about who got the couch and who got the floor. They eventually settled it and went right to sleep. Catherine had found a chair and propped it against the wall. She closed her eyes but couldn't sleep. She had been sitting there for almost three hours. She looked up and saw Grissom looking intently through the glass as if he were trying to see something very small. His eyes were moving back and forth.

Catherine got up to see why Grissom was looking through the glass. Nick had finally awoken. He and Rebecca sat their talking. She looked back at Grissom and understood what he was doing.

"Not so fast, Gil," she said pulling him around to face her. "There will be no lip reading in that conversation. You owe Rebecca that much anyway. Come on."

"Where are we going?" he asked as she let go of his arm.

"We have to make a call," Catherine said solemnly. "We've put it off long enough." She led him to the fourth floor lobby and asked the receptionist to use the phone.

"I don't know the number."

Catherine handed him a slip of paper. "I called Warrick. He looked it up. Don't forget the area code."

Grissom took it and picked up the phone. He spoke as he dialed. "I never thought I would have to make this call for Nick."

The phone rang three times before comeone picked up. It was an older gentleman. Very groggy from being awaken.

"Mr. Stokes," Grissom began. There was a knot in his throat. " This is Gil Grissom with the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I am the supervisor for the graveyard shift. Your son Nick works under me." He paused. "I'm afraid there has been an accident..."

* * *

"So they got him. Right?" Nick asked as he painfully changed positions.

Rebecca looked down and wiped a tear from her face. "Yeah. I guess so. I heard Jim yelling into the radio to cuff him... then people cheering. I think they got."

Nick looked at her, "They got him...You're safe now."

Rebecca looked at him. "Thanks to you," she started to cry. "You've saved my life twice today, Nick. I owe you more than my life. _A lot_ more than my life." She took her left arm out of it's sling and, struggling, placed it on the bed. She took Nick's hand in both of hers and cried. Nick felt himself beginning to tear up. He had to explain to her what he thought.

"Bec," he spoke. He had not allowed himself to cry. She looked at him through cloudy eyes. "I don't blame you for this. None of this is your fault. In fact, this has been one of the best days of my life." He watched her laugh. "No seriously. It has."

And why is that? You've toyed with, shot at, and sent on a wild goose chase. Can you tell me one reason that this is one of the best days that you've even had."

Nick laughed to himself. "I met one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. I met you today, Bec."

She smiled and laid her head down on his side. Nick smiled back.

Greg walked in. "Sorry to ruin the moment guys but the nurses are here to take you back," he said to Nick. Rebecca looked at Nick. they realeased each other's hand. Greg felt bad about walking in on them.

"Well I guess I'm off again."

Grissom and Catherine had walked into the room with Greg.

"Stay strong Nicky," Catherine said as the began to move him. When they had wheeled him to the door, Grissom placed his hand on Nick's good shoulder. Nick looked at him. He knew what Grissom meant.

"Nick!" Rebecca shouted. She put her arm in the sling and skidded to a stop by the door. She whispered something in his ear. He laughed and nodded. They wheeled him away.

"What'd you tell him?" Greg asked.

She smiled at him. "I told him I wanted my bullet back," she continued and the smile grew, "and that he was going to hand it to me."

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	13. Back in Recovery

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Sorry this one is so short guys. I haven't had much time to type over the last few days. Thanks again for the reviews. thanks wraiths-angel for staying with me and reviewing.

* * *

They were in the waiting room on the second floor. Sara was angry.

"I can't believe you didn't wake me up so I could see him before he went it!"

"It's not our fault you wouldn't wake up!" Greg fired back. "You're like sleeping beauty, minus the beauty."

Rebecca laughed as she watched them fight. Catherine just shook her head. Grissom face showed a small grin.

"Gris," Catherine said his name and he turned to her. She nodded at Rebecca. He got the message. Grissom stood up and walked between the two chairs that held Greg and Sara and sat down next to Rebecca.

"Rebecca," he started, "I'm sorry if I sounded... rude earlier. I didn't mean to upset you. You belong here as much as anyone."

She looked into his eyes. "I forgive you Grissom. It's been a long night and we are all shaken about it. I overreacted to the situation earlier. I realize now that you didn't mean the comment the way you did. I actually _should_ have stayed upstairs."

They undertood each other's reponse. Grissom stood up and walked back to his seat by Catherine. "Now, was that so hard?"

Grissom eyed her and spoke, "His parents are flying in on the next flight they can get."

Catherine sighed and yawned. She was getting tired.

"Lie down and sleep if you like," Grissom said, "I'll wait for the doctor."

"And let you have all the fun of watching those two fight? I don't think so." She looked at Grissom and for the first time realized how long he had been awake. "Why don't you lie down. You've been up for what... three shifts?"

"I've been up longer," he said.

She shrugged. Greg's outburst cause her to turn around.

"Sara, if you're going to argue with me about something I couldn't help then I don't want to sit near you." He walked over and plopped down next to Rebecca. "Bec'll talk to me nicely, Won't you Bec?" He heard no response and looked at her.

Rebecca was sitting in her chair with her feet in the chair adjacent to her. Her head was leaned against the back of her chair. She was asleep. Greg obviously didn't care.

"You'll be nice to me Bec. Right?"

She stirred from her sleep. "Yeah sure, Greg, mmhmmm."

"See!"

* * *

It had been hours since Nick had gone under the knife. Grissom checked his watch: 6:45. _They should finished by now. They have probably run into complications. _He pushed the thought from his mind and gazed around the room. On the far side sat Greg and Rebecca. Her head was leaned up against his chest; his arm looped around her and fell across her arm. Both were fast asleep. Then he moved toSara.She was stretched across three chairs, out cold. Her arm was hanging limp off the side of the middle chair. Grissom looked to his left side. On his shoulder, Catherine had propped herself and was breathing deeply, signifying her unconsciousness. 

He heard the door open and looked up.

"Hey Gris, I'm sorry I couldn't--"he stopped short. It wasWarrick. He gazed around athis sleeping coworkers.He continued in a whisper. "Igot here as soon as I could. Iwas working a case with a double homicide."

"That's ok. We haven't heard anything for hours." Catherine shifted positions.

"Long night?" Warrick asked.

"Yes. Too long."

"So you want to give me the low down," he walked over and sat across from Grissom.

He proceeded to explain to Warrick everything that had happened.

"The bullet went through the woman and then into Nick? Man that sucks."

Greg began to mumble something. "I'll only have the peanut butter if I can have _the milk_..." He trailed off and was silent.

"Same old Greg. Always food, even when he's asleep," Warrick commented.

The door the the waiting room opened again. This time, it was a surgeon, though not the same one as before. The sound of the doorcaused Greg to wake.

"What time is it?" he asked with a yawn.

"Are you here for Mr. Stokes?" the surgeon asked Grissom and Warrick.

"We all are," Grissom said.

Greg shook Rebecca awake. She looked very tired and very pale. He shouted at Sara,"Hey, sleeping beauty, Wake up!" Both Sara and Catherine were roused.

The man took a deep breath. "The surgery went well. There is no sign of spinal damage. He won't be running any marathons for a few months. He'll need to take it easy for a few days."

"That won't be a problem," Grissom said very relieved. Everyonelet out the brath they were holding.

"That leaves me to the one issue.The bullet splinteredwhen it hit Mr. Stokes's spine.We were able to collect all but a small fragment. We were not able to locate the last fragment. We checked all along the path of the bullet but there were no shards.What worries me is that the lead might be in his bloodstream. We've estimated the amount missing to be about one milligram. That is well over the amount needed to cause significant harm. We have taken him to get x-rayed."

At that moment a young doctor walked in and handed the surgeon an x-ray. The surgeon held the photo of Nick's chest into the light.

"Nothing," he said. "There are no lead particles in this chest. That leads me to question: Did the bullet strike anything before entering Mr. Stokes?"

Grissom looked towards Greg. Greg looked at Rebecca. She was asleep on his shoulder.

"Did the bullet that we retrieve from Mr. Stokes's chest enter her body as well?" the doctor asked looking at Rebecca's slinged arm.

Grissom answered, "Yes."

"We'll need to get her x-rayed immediately. If the fragment has entered her bloodstream she could already be experienceng the effects."

"Bec," Greg said shaking her slightly. She groaned but did not moved. Theyoung doctor walked over pulling out his light. he shoned it into her eyes.

"Her eyes are dialated," the doctorsaid. He opened her mouth and looked at her gums. "There is a blue line. It's lead poisoning. We need to get the bullet fragment out as soon as possible."

"I'll call ahead to x-ray and prep for the operation," said the surgeon, rushing from the room.

The doctor jogged out of the room. Seconds later, he rolled a wheel chair in and stopped in front of Rebecca. "Can you help me?" He was indicating Greg.

Greg shifted to gain a better positionas helifeted her into the chair. He held her head to avoid it hitting the back of the chair. The docotr wheeled her out of the room leaving the others in a state of shock.

"Well that was very eventful," Greg said.

"When did you get here Warrick?" Catherine asked.

"A few minutes before the doc walked in."

"So wait, let me get all this straight," Sara began. "The surgeonsfound all the peieces of the bullet in Nick except one. And that piece is in Rebecca?"

"Yes. A blue line across the gums is a sign of lead poisoning. There is an extremely large amount of lead in her body. I have no doubt that Nick had the same line, but Rebecca has had no medication for poisoning. She is at extreme risk for tissue damage," Grissom finished.

"Well aren't you the fountain of knowledge," Greg said humorously.

"Wait, could that much lead kill her? Even in the short amount of time it's been?" Warrick asked.

"It's highly unlikely, but with the amount he's talking about being directly in the blood stream, there may be some reprecussions."

"So we wait for both of them." Greg was tired of waiting. He wanted to go home knowing that everyone would be safe.

* * *

"Can we see him now?" Catherine asked the attendant. 

"Yes, he's groggy though, and he needs his rest. Keep it to under thirty minutes."

Nick was awake and propped up in his bed. He was amazed as his friends entered the room. There was hardly enough room for each of them stand. He noticed Warrick for the first time indays.

"Warrick, man, how are ya?"

"Good.How are you?"

"I feel like I got slammed by a semi, and then got drunk." Nick looked around the room noticing there was one person who was not in the room. "Where's Bec?" he asked as he looked from person to person. All of their eyes fell to the floor. All but Grissom's.

"Gris... Where is she?" Nick sounded worried and fearful all at once.

"You were told the bullet splintered? Well not all of it made through Rebecca and into you. A part of the bullet is still in her. She has a severe case oflead poisoning. They are operating as we speak."

Nick hung his head. Everything was tense for a moment as he absorbed the new information. He breathed and looked up at them. "So, did you get any sleep?"

Greg was the first to answer, "Why don't you ask sleeping beuaty over here?"

That pushed Sara over the edge. "Greg, if you say one more thing to me tonight you will be lucky i don't have my gun!"

"Oooo...I'm practically shaking."

"That's it!" She proceeded to "chase" him around the room, bumping itno everyone and almost knocking over several of the monitors.

The surgeon walked in to this chaos. He coughed. Everyone's focus fell on him.

"The surgery was a success. The fragment matches perfectly to the estimated size."

"Where is she?" Nick finally said.

"She is down the hall in her own recovery room. She is unconscious. We recovered the fragment but we are fearful of the effects such a large sample of lead can have on the body. She will have to be monitored for the next several hours while we determine if any permanent damage has occurred."

"Well when can Nick leave?" asked Catherine.

"In a few short hours. We still need to make sure he has no side effects of the lead, but he should be well enough to go home later this morning. I suggest you all give him some time to rest."

They all looked at Nick and said their goodbyes. Nick looked at Greg and cast him a glance which Greg fully understood. _Check on her, Greg. Stay with her if you can get away from Grissom._

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	14. Taking Roots

**AUTHOR"S NOTE:** Last Chap. hope you like it. Thanks for reading and everything.

* * *

Rebecca woke up to the sunshine coming through the window. She thought that she was at home lying in her own bed. Then She remembered where she was. _The hospital. But why am I still here?_ The last thing she remembered was lying in the waiting room next to Greg. _They wouldn't have put me back in the recovery room to sleep._ Her thoughts fell on Nick as she rolled over and searched for a clock. The one hanging on the wall read 11:45.

"What happened?" she asked herself.

"Well apparently you kept a little of that lead to yourself." It was Greg. Rebecca cast him a confused look. "The bullet chipped before it hit Nick. You have lead poisoning. Don't worry though, your going to be fine."

"How's Nick? Did he make through the surgery ok?"

"Yeah, he's asleep in his room. Do you want me to go get him?"

"No. I just wanted to know." _He needs to rest. _

"The doctors have already cleared him for release. As soon as he wakes up he'll be able to go home."

"That's good to here," she said happily. "Can I go see him?" She asked preparing to get out of the bed.

"No. I am under strictest orders to watch you. And plus the doctors say they need to monitor your systems for a while. You have to stay here until tonight at least."

Rebecca looked saddened. "Tonight?" she looked around. "Greg, have you seen my phone?"

"No, why do you ask?" he said looking around.

"I'm suppose to be getting a call about how my interview went in Henderson."

* * *

"Do you want to come and sit in on the interrogation?" Brass asked. 

"Yes. I was on my way out of the hospital just now when you called."

"How's our boy?"

"Fine. He pulled through it great. I've given him a week off. If he needs more, he can have it."

"Ok. I'll see you in a few minutes."

He hung up the phone and walked to where Jonas was being held.Brass banged on the bars of the holding cell. "Wake up!"

Jonas Killen slowly opened his eyes and faced Brass. "I am awake." His voice was terrible.

"Then get your fat ass up."

Jonas walked over to the door. Two uniforms were waiting to cuff his hands and escort him to the interrogation room.

"Your carrying that legvery well. Does it hurt at all?" Brass asked maniacally.

"Why don't you ask Nick Stokes? I am sure that he could give you a description of what it is like to be shot."

Brass was enraged."Keep him quiet while he's in there," he said to the officers, "I'll be there as soon as Grissom gets here. Oh, and let's remind Jonas that his leg is injured." He smiled and left.The officers didn't have to wait long. Ten minutes later, Grissom and Brass walked into the room.

"Jonas Killen," Brass said with a sigh, "you have waved your rights to a lawyer. Do you still wish to continue as planned?"

"Lawyers are the worst part of the legal systemon this planet," he eyed Brass and the two officers, "just above the arresting officers."

"You are a little low yourself, to be mouthing off like that. You have quite a track record Jonas. I don't know what jury--"

Jonas interrupted him, "Mr. Killen."

Brass fumed, _"Mr. Killen. _As I was saying, I don't know what jury would be insane enough to let you go free."

"Well that's the key then isn't it?" Jonas smiled. "Everyone is a little insane aren't they?"

Grissom's eyes lit up. _He's going to plead insanity. He has the audacity to try it. Look at his record. And he doesn't even feel the slightes pang of guilt after murdering all those women. _He knew that Jonas could pull it off. Grissomlooked to Brass. Jim was in the same upheaval.

"You aren't mentally unstable,and you can't prove that you are," Grissom said.quickly.

"Mentally ustable!" he shouted. "I can assure you Ihave aperfectly stable mind." He sat down obviously angered. "As for my track record, those rapes were alleged."

"What about the murders? Are you going to tell me those were alleged too? And what about the killing of the officer?"

"Have you any witnesses of these murders? Can anyone place me at the scene? As I understand there were only two witnesses who were identifiable. I believe I've done away with one of those witnesses tonight. The other, as the news tells me, was murdered sometime early yesterday morning."

_He doesn't know. He thinks he killed Rebecca. He doesn't know she's alive._ Grissom looked at Brass. Brass looked as if he was about to reveal the truth about Rebecca'scurrent condition.

"Jim," Grissom said to interrupt his confession. "Can I see you outside for a minute?"

He threw a questionable look towards him. "Sure." Brass looked at Jonas. "Don't move."

They left the room and Grissom spoke. "Jim, we have an advantage here. He thinks the only living witness in his case is dead. Get him to talk some more."

"I see what you're saying. Get him to feel a little more confident then drop the bomb."

"Exactly."

They entered the room to see a self-righteous Jonas sitting and looking very pleased with himself.

"We can still prosecute you for the attempted murder of the officer and the murder of Rebecca Hill," said Brass.

"I'll sign a confession to those two considering the number of witnesses. I won't play around with that.You will have to extradite me to Alabama due to my arrest warrant." He smiled, and continued, "A shame too. I shall have wanted to spend all the time I could in Nevada."

"It seems oddly peculiar that you would kill a witness to a crime yousay youdidn't commit. And then murder the only other woman who could comparatively place you at the scene," Grissom said.

"Areyou implying that I murdered the Monroe girl as well?" he asked very sinister.

"Not implying, accusing."

"Unless you can have someone place me at the scene, Mr. Brass, I would have to utterly disagree with that accusation. Isn't it funny thatI seem to have accidentally murdered the only person who could have placed me there?"

"That is very funny," said Brass not laughing.

"Do you know what else is funny?" asked a smiling Grissom.

Jonas replied,"I would love to know anything that would make you smile."

"Well as it just so happens," Grissom began, "I was at the hospital before I arrived here. It turns out the doctors disovered the little secret with inthe bullet you fired."

"I thought you might enjoy that. Lead poisoning is an extremely painful way to die. The bullet was designed to shatter on impact. It would have taken hoursfor surgeonsto find all the pieces. Couple that with the amount of lead in the bullet and the mixture would have been fatal if not treated."

"If not killed by the initial blast and blood loss, the lead would have poisoned the victim to death?" Brass asked.

"Genius. I know, but I do not see the joke in the that statement."

"As it turns out, your plans to murder Rebecca Hill have failed. She is alive at Desert Springs, being well monitored for lead poisoning."

Jonas's face lost all color. His plan had failed. She could place him at the scene. Not only in Nevada, but in the Alabama rapes. He stopped talking.

"Mr. Killen, you look shocked. Do you have something to tell us?" Jim asked with a gleaming smile. Jonas didn't answer he just stared at the table. "Mr. Killen?"

"I think, I would like to speak with lawyer now."

"I thought you might say that," Brass sounded pridefully. "I'll see if I can find one of these low members of the legal system for you to talk to."

Brass and Grissom walked out of the room smiling.

"So when is Nick going to get to leave the hospital?"

"As soon as he wakes up."

* * *

Nickopened his eyes to an almostempty room. Catherine sat alone in the corner. She answered the question he was thinking. "They all went hometo restbefore thenext shift." 

"And what about you?"

"I took the night off to spend time with Lindsey." As she spoke, a nurse walked in and began turning off some of the monitors. She took the IV out of Nick's arm and placed a band-aid over it. She glanced over his stiches and removed the pads used to monitor his vitals.

When she was finished, she said, "Are you ready to leave?"

He looked up and smiled, "Do I have a choice?"

She laughed, "You have already been realeased. When you've changed clothes you can leave with your friend." She exited.

Nick looked around for his clothes. "Do I have any clothes?"

"Warrick brought some over. They're in the bathroom."

Nick made his way into the bathroom. Catherine heard himgroan as he tried to slip on his shirt. "You need some help?"

He opened the door favoring his arm. "No. It just hurts when I stretch my arm out."

""Well, if your ready to leave, I want to get out of here. I've spent enough time in the hospital tonight to last me for years."

They shared a laughas Nick slipped his arm into a slingand left the room. As they walked towards the elevator, they caught sight of Gregwalking down the opposite side of the hall coffee in hand.

"Alittle late for coffee Greg," Nick called down the hall to him.

Greg turned around to answer, "It's never too late for coffee." He was completely serious.

"What are you doing here, Greg?" Catherine asked.

"I'm watching Bec to make sure she doesn't run away."

"Why are you doing it? Did Grissom tell you to?"

"No. Nick told me to."

Catherine eyed Nick.

"I did not."

"Well you sure looked like that's what you wanted," he said as he turned around and opened the door into one of the recovery rooms. Five seconds later herushed out of the roomin shock.

"She's gone!" he yelled.

"What?" Catherine and Nick both responded.

"No, I'm not," came a female voice from the bathroom.Rebecca came outwith herbloodstained onjeans underneath her hospital gown. She was rolling her IV stand out with her. "God, Greg, you get so worked up. Did you not notice the IV stand was gone?" she asked in a very know-it-all attitude.

"Well, I'm sorry. I was too busy thinking you had flatlined." When she had gotten up she had taken off the monitor wire-pads that detected heartbeat.

"Can I help it that I had to go to the bathroom?"

"You have a bedpan. And why do you have those jeans on again?"

"For starters, I am not using the bathroom in a bedpan. It's legally urinating on yourself. And I have these jeans on because I didn't want to lie in a bed with nothin' but a hospital gown on! Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, he doesn't." Rebecca had not noticed Nick and Catherine's walking up during the argument.

She thought hard._ What do I say? How's your lung? Sorry about dragging you into this? Thanks for saving my life? What am I suppose tosay?_

Nick seemed to read her thoughts. He embraced her. It surprised her for a moment and then he felt her relax. He brought his mouth close to her ear and spoke loud enough for onlyher to hear, "I think we are thanking each other, Thank you Bec."

"Thank you, Nick," Rebecca said. He voice was muffled by Nick's chest. As they held each other, Rebecca realized a sudden pain in her shoulder. Nick also felt a pain in his right shoulder. They registered their pain quickly and winced. _Note to self, Rebecca, you remember it now, don't you?_

"So you have to stay for a few more hours?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, 'til everything checks out."

Catherine had walked over to the elevator and out of earshot. "I'm going to go home and lie down before Cath gives me a hard time. Don't heitate to call if Greg starts actin' up." Greg made a mocking face asNick took her hand and pulled her closer. He kissed her on the cheek and looked her into her eyes before walking away. Catherine pushed the ground floor button and the steel doors closed them into the elevator shaft. Rebecca stood for a moment not sure if she was breathing. She opened her fited hand. The hand Nick had held. In it was a small piece of folded paper. She unfolded it. It had a number and a note: _If you need me...Nick. _

"What's it say?" Greg asked being nosey.

"None of your business," she said with a laugh.

* * *

Greg drove Rebecca from the hospital after she had been released. 

"Finally," she said from the passenger seat.

"Well, I'm surprised they let you leave at all with the running away you did earlier."

"I didn't die, did I?"

"Well almost."

"Shut up!"

They arrived at the crime lab. "I don't know why they wanted you here. Grissom just called and said to bring you by," Greg said helping her out of the car.

"Probably to identify Jonas. It's standard procedure. But you already knew that."

"Standard procedure," Greg said mockingly. They loved to push each other's buttons.

Grissom met them and led them to the small room with the two-way mirror. "Say whichnumber he is," Grissom said.

Rebecca watched the line of men step forward. "Number three," she said. "It's Jonas Killen." She was correct.

Greg led her to the interrogation room to be questioned about her friends murder and the events leading up to last night's attempted murders. As she walked by the lab she heard a phone ringing. Greg heard it too.

"Is anyone going to answer that?" he yelled down the hall. Rebecca listened again. It sounded familiar. It was a cell phone. Her phone.

"Greg, that's my phone! Where is it?"

He listened again."In the lab being processed; quick we'll look." Greg saw the phone and slipped on a latex glove. He carefully opened it and pushed the speakerphone option. "Hello?"

"Hello, this is the Henderson police depatment calling in response to an interview made in the interest offilling acrime scene analyst position, is there a Miss Rebecca Hill present?"

"This is she," Rebecca answered. She took a deep breath and held it.

"Miss Hill," the man on the other end of the line began. "This is Lieutenant Barnes, the man who directed your interview."

"Hello Lieutenant, It's Nice to speak with you again." Rebecca looked over to Greg, who was making gestures that he wished the man would get to the point.

"Likewise Miss Hill. I am pleased to inform you that you have been given the job. We will expect you here thisThursdaybefore the shift startto fill out the necessary paperwork. I congratulate you. Your service record is impeccable."

"Thank you Lieutenant Barnes. I'll be there around seven?" It was taking all of Rebecca's will to contain her excitement.

"That will be fine. See you then."

"Yes I will see you then. Thank you sir."

When the phone clicked, she almost screamed with happiness. "I got a job Greg! I'm in Henderson!"

"That's only about twenty miles away!" He threw his arms around her to hug her.

Rebecca stifled yet another scream. She groaned instead. "Greg--shoulder..."

He released her, "Sorry. Just real excited."

"Thursday. That's day after tomorrow. I have to find an apartment and call my boss back home and--"

"Just chill, Bec. You've got a job. This calls for a celebration."

"What's all the yellin' about?" Nick walked up. He was in for questioning as well.

"I got a job Nick! In Henderson!"

"That's what... twenty minutes away? That's great." Nick was excited now.

"And I say we celebrate." Greg really wanted to get out of the lab.

"Not tonight," Rebecca said (Greg looked sad.). "Saturday," She finished.

"Saturday's good with me," Nick said with a smile.

"Saturday. Gotcha. I'll make reservations somewhere really nice," said Greg excitedly.

"Ok Greg, but you're payin'," Nick said laughing.

"Whoa, I didn't mean it like that," Greg said holding his hands up in defense.

"Alright," Rebecca said indicating the two men before her, "It'll be a party. Spread the word. Greg's payin'!"

"No, hold up guys!" Greg yelled trying to take back what Rebecca had just started.

* * *

"They released your car," Nick told rebecca as they entered the parking lot. "Will you be able to drive?" he asked indicating her shoulder.

She laughed,"I'll be fine. What about you? Do you want me to drive you."

"Only if you'll stay with me," he said with a smile.

"I'm not that easy, Stokes," she replied with a smile.

"Where will you go?"

She thought about it. "I have some money with me that I've been savin'. I'll stay at a hotel for now until I can get my money transferred. I've got a lot to do before Thursday."

Nick nodded, "You still have my number. Call me if you need anything."

"What would I do without you, Nick?"

"... You'd be dead." They both laughed until they were sore. Nick was the first to speak after they had calmed down. "I have an extra room and a couch if you would prefer to use them until you find your own apartment."

It was hard to turn down. "No, but thank you. I like to stand on my own feet.I know youunderstand that."

"I understand." He took her hand once again and leaned into kiss her. There lips met. Rebecca felt as if time stood still. It seemed forever beforehe pulled his lips away. She took in a deep breathe.

"Call me anytime," he said.

"I will... I'll see you Saturday." She turned and walked away.

"Saturday..." _I can't wait..._

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**AUTHOR"S NOTE CONT.:** Hope you all liked this. I'm thinking of doing a sequal. Tell me what you think. Thanks for reading.


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